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PETITIONER: BIHAR STATE HARIJAN KALYAN PARISHAD

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT01/03/1985

BENCH: REDDY, O. CHINNAPPA (J) BENCH: REDDY, O. CHINNAPPA (J) VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J)

CITATION:  1985 AIR  983            1985 SCR  (3)  12  1985 SCC  (2) 644        1985 SCALE  (1)369  CITATOR INFO :  RF         1991 SC1173  (5)

ACT:      Constitution of India 1950, Article 16      Reservation of posts for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes-Group ’A’  services-Promotion  by  selection  method- Presidential Directive  para 9  - Public Sector Undertaking- Government communications  denying benefit  of  reservation- Quashed

HEADNOTE:          In case  of promotion  to posts  promotion to which are by  the selection  method, 15% and 7.5 per cent of posts were to  be reserved  for  Scheduled  Castes  and  Scheduled Tribes respectively.  Para 9  of the  Presidential Directive provided that  the aforesaid  rule of  reservation was  also applicable to  promotions by selection to posts within Group A’ carrying  a salary  of Rs.  2250 per  month or  less, and prescribed that  officers belonging  to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled  Tribes would be considered for promotion, who are senior  enough to  be within  the zone of consideration, and described the procedure to be adopted.      By a  letter dated the 8th April, 1982, the Ministry of Steel and Mines, Department of Steel, informed the Chairman, Steel Authority  of India  Limited, that  in accordance with para  9   of  the   Presidential  Directive   there  was  no reservation for  Scheduled Castes  and Scheduled  Tribes  in promotion by selection to posts within Group A’. This letter in turn  was followed up by a communication dated August 19, 1982 by  the Steel Authority of India to the Chief Personnel Manager, Bokaro  Steel Plant stating that no reservation for scheduled caste  / scheduled  tribe candidates in matters of promotions to  any grade  within Group-A  posts  are  to  be provided, since  promotions  within  Group-A  posts  in  the company are based on selection method.      The writ  petition of  the Appellant,  complaining that the letter  dated April  8, 1982  of the Ministry of Steel & Mines and the letter dated August 13 19, 1982  to the  Chief Personnel  Manager of  Bokaro  Steel Plant   purported  to  deny  to  the  scheduled  castes  and scheduled tribes the benefit of reservation in the matter of

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promotion to selection posts within Group ’A’, was summarily dismissed by the High Court.       Allowing the Appeal to this Court, ^          HELD: 1.  Para 9  of  the  Presidential  Directive, which deals  with  "concession  to  employees  of  Scheduled Castes and  Scheduled  Tribes  in  promotions  by  selection method" makes  abundantly clear that the rule of reservation is also  applicable to  promotions  by  selection  to  posts within Group ’A’ which carry an ultimate salary of Rs. 2,250 per month or   less.  It  however,  prescribes  a  procedure different from  the usual  procedure adopted  in filling  up posts reserved  for Scheduled  Castes and  Scheduled Tribes. [16F-G]      2. The  letters of  the Department  of Steel  dated 8th April, 1982, and of the Steel Authority of India Ltd., dated August 19,  1982 are  contrary to para 9 of the Presidential Directive. [17A]      3. The  writ petition  is allowed.  The  letters  dated April  8,   1982  and  August  19,  1982  are  quashed.  The respondents are  directed to  give effect  to paragraph 9 of the Presidential Directive. [17A]

JUDGMENT:      CIVIL APPELLATE  JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 680 of 1985.      From the  Judgment and order dated 1.2.1983 of the High Court of Patna at Ranchi in C.W.J.C. No. 1152/82.      V.M. Tarkunde,  P.H.Parekh and  Miss Lata Krishnamurthi for the petitioners.      V.A. Syed  Mohammad,  Abdul  Khader,  K.J.  John,  S.R. Grover, Manjul  Bajpayee, Goverdhan,  C.V. Subba  Rao,  R.N. Poddar, and Miss A Subhashini for the Respondents      The judgment of the Court was delivered by       CHINNAPPA REDDY, J. Special leave granted.      The Bihar  State Harijan  Kalyan  Parishad  whose  writ petition against  the Steel  Authority of  India  Ltd.,  the Union of  India and  others, was  dismissed in limine is the appellant  before   us  in   this  appeal.  We  are  afraid, notwithstanding the summary dismissal; 14 of the  writ Petition  by the High Court, this appeal has to be allowed  The appellant  is rightly  aggrieved with letter No. 18.(12)/81-SAIL-II/  Coord dated  April 8, 1982 from the Ministry    of  Steel and Mines addressed to the Chairman of the Steel   Authority     of India  Limited and  letter  No. PER/IR/7949 (pt)  dated  August  19,  1982  from  the  Steel Authority of  India Limited  to the Chief Personnel Manager, Bokaro Steel  Plant, Bokaro.  The effect of the two letters, which we will extract in full later at an appropriate stage, is to  deny to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes the benefit  of  reservation  in  the  matter  of  promotion  to selection posts within Group ’A’. The Bokaro Steel Plant, we may mention  here, is a unit of the Steel Authority of India Limited which  in turn  is a public limited Company entirely owned, controlled  and supervised by the Central Government. It is not disputed that the Steel Authority of India Limited is an  instrumentality of  the State  and  is  an  authority within the meaning of Art. 12 of the Constitution of India.      The Government  of India, Ministry of Finance Bureau of Public  Enterprises,   issued  a   directive  to  the  Chief Executives of  all Public  Sector Enterprises on the subject of reservation  for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in

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appointments in  public enterprises.  While 15%; and 7.5 per cent of  posts are  generally to  be reserved  for Scheduled Castes and  Scheduled Tribes  respectively, in  the case  of promotion of  members of  the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to  posts promotion  to which  are by  the  selection method, a  special procedure  is devised  by Para  9 of  the directive. In the case of promotions within Group ’A’, it is laid down:                "In promotions  by selection  to posts within          Group ’A  which carry  an ultimate salary of Rs. 2,          250   per    month,   or    less,   the   scheduled          caste/scheduled  tribe   officers  who  are  senior          enough in  the zone  of consideration for promotion          so as  to be  within the  number of  vacancies  for          which the  select list has to be drawn up, would be          included  in   that  list  provided  they  are  not          considered unfit  for promotion.  Their position in          the select  list would,  however, be  The  same  as          assigned to  them  by  the  Departmental  Promotion          Committee on  the basis of their record of service.          They would  not be  given,  for  this  purpose  one          grading   higher   than   the   grading   otherwise          assignable to  them on the basis of their record of          service," 15      A close  perusal of  the directive  and  in  particular paragraph 9  which deals  with "concessions  to employees of Scheduled Castes  and  Scheduled  Tribes  in  promotions  by selection method’’  makes it  abundantly clear that the rule of reservation is also applicable to promotions by selection to posts  within Group  A’ which carry an ultimate salary of Rs. 2,  250 per  month or  less, but  that the  procedure is slightly different  than in  the case  of other posts. While the rule  of reservation  applies to promotions by selection to posts within Group ’A’ carrying a salary of Rs. 2,250 per month or  less, it  is prescribed  that only  those officers belonging to  the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be considered  for promotion  who are  senior enough  to  be within the  zone of  consideration. Thereafter a Select List depending upon  the number of vacancies would be drawn up in which would also be included those officers belonging to the Scheduled Castes and scheduled Tribes who are not considered unfit for promotion. Their position in the Select List would be that  assigned to  them  by  the  Departmental  Promotion Committee on  the basis  of the  record of service. In other words, their  inclusion in  the Select  List would  not give them seniority,  merely by  virtue of their belonging to the scheduled castes  and scheduled  tribes over  other officers placed above  them in  the Select  List by  the Departmental Promotion Committee.  This appears  to us  to  be  the  only possible interpretation of paragraph 9 of the directive. However,  by letter  No. 18(12)/81-SAlL  II/Coord dated the  8th April,  1982 from  the Ministry  of Steel and Mines, Department of Steel, addressed to the Chairman of the Steel  Authority   of  India  Limited,  the  above-mentioned paragraph 9  of the  directive appears  to have been totally misinterpreted. The letter runs as follows:       "Sir,      I am  directed to  refer to your letter No. PER/IR/1914 (pt) dated  the 12th November, 1981 on the above subject and to say  that in  accordance with  para 9 of the Presidential Directive on  the subject there is no reservation for S/C ST in promotion  by selection  to posts  within Group ’A’ which carry an ultimate salary of Rs 2250 per month or less.                                             Your faithfully,

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                                                        Sd/                                                 (T.V. NAYER)                      Deputy Secretary to the Govt. Of India" 16       This  letter in  turn was  followed by a communication dated August  19, 1982  from the Steel Authority of India to the Chief  Personnel Manager  of Bokaro  Steel Plant  to the following effect: "      Dear Sir,           Kindly refer  to  your  letter  No.  BCL-PER  (OP)      5/57//3251 dated 19th July, 1982, on the above subject.           2. No  reservation for  scheduled  caste/scheduled      tribe candidates  in matters of promotions to any grade      within  Group-A   posts  are   to  be  provided,  since      promotions within  Group-A posts  in  the  company  are      based on  selection method.  The principle of seniority      subject to  fitness does  not apply  in the case of our      promotion policy  since the  employees have first to be      found suitable for promotion through selection process,      and  only   thereafter,  at  certain  levels,  are  the      promotions made  in  the  order  of  seniority  of  the      selected.                                            Yours faithfully.                                                          Sd/                                                 (P.N. Singh)                                        Deputy Director (IR)"      It is at once seen that the two letters are contrary to para graph  9 of  the Presidential  Directive on  which they purport to  place reliance.  Paragraph 9 of the Presidential Directive no  where says  that the  rule of reservation does not apply  to promotion  by selection  to posts within Group which carry  an ultimate  salary of  Rs. 225)  per month  or less. On  the other  hand paragraph  9 of  the  Presidential Directive proceeds  on the basic assumption that the rule of reservation does apply but prescribes a certain procedure to be followed,  a procedure different from the usual procedure adopted in  filling up  posts reserved  for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled  Tribes. It  is indeed a matter of surprise to us that  the Ministry of Steel and Mines has chosen to place such an  interpretation on  paragraph 9  of the Presidential Directive. The stand taken by them in the letter dated April 8,  1984  is  reiterated  in  paragraph  5  of  the  counter affidavit  filed  on  behalf  of  the  Union  of  India.  No explanation has been given in the counter affidavit for what appears to  us to  be a plain volte face. We have no option, but to quash the 17 letters dated  April 8,  1982  and  August  19,  1982  above extracted by us and to direct the respondents to give effect to paragraph  9 of  the Presidential  Directive with  effect from the  date  of  the  Directive.  We  have  set  out  our interpretation of the Presidential Directive and effect will be  given  to  the  Presidential  Directive  in  the  manner interpreted by  us. We  also wish  to make it clear that the classification of  posts  will  be  on  the  same  lines  as mentioned in  paragraph 2 of the Presidential Directive. The writ petition is allowed with costs. N.V.K.                                     Petition allowed. 18