Today, On 28th August, The Supreme Court intervened to assist PSU employees who received notices for securing jobs under SC-ST categories. These employees were facing potential action over their employment status due to their reserved category placements. The Court’s involvement provides relief to those impacted by the notices.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court, On Wednesday, provided relief to certain central government and PSU bank employees who were at risk of termination due to their castes being removed from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes list by the Karnataka government.
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta ruled against the notices issued by the banks and undertakings, stating,
“We hold that the proposed action of the respondent banks/undertakings in issuing notice(s) to the appellants to show cause as to why their services may not be terminated cannot be sustained and are hereby quashed.”
This decision set-aside a previous judgment by the Karnataka High Court.
Employees from the Kotegara Scheduled Caste and Kuruba Scheduled Tribe, including K Nirmala, were issued notices by their employers Canara Bank, Oriental Insurance Company Limited, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited demanding a response. These PSU employers argued that since the castes and tribes of these employees had been removed from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes list, they were no longer eligible to retain their positions, which had been secured under reserved categories.
The Supreme Court, while addressing a series of petitions, focused on a central question, whether an individual who secured a position in a nationalized bank or a Government of India undertaking based on an SC or ST certificate in Karnataka could retain their job after their caste or tribe was removed from the scheduled list.
Justice Sandeep Mehta, delivering the judgment, stated,
“We conclude that the appellants are entitled to protection of their services by virtue of the government circular dated March 29, 2003. This circular, issued by the Government of Karnataka, specifically extended protection to various castes, including those excluded in the earlier circular dated March 11, 2002.”
He further explained that the subsequent circular covered castes such as Kotegara, Kotekshathriya, Koteyava, Koteyar, Ramakshathriya, Sherugara, and Sarvegara, ensuring that individuals from these castes, who held Scheduled Caste certificates issued before the de-scheduling, would be entitled to retain their services, albeit as unreserved candidates for all future purposes.
The court also noted that the finance ministry, in an August 2005 communication, reinforced this protective measure for the affected bank employees, shielding them from both departmental and criminal actions.
The verdict referenced a prior judgment, noting that the state government lacks the authority to amend or modify the list of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) as published under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution. As a result, the bench stated that the Centre declared Karnataka’s circulars, which included certain castes in the SC and ST lists within the state, as invalid.
The bench emphasized,
“There is no dispute over the fact that the appellant employees had obtained their SC and ST certificates by following the due process of law.”
It further explained,
“When these caste certificates were issued, the synonymous caste of the appellants had been included in the list of Scheduled Castes by virtue of the circular issued by the Government of Karnataka, albeit by exercising powers that were not vested in the state.”
The court concluded,
“There cannot be two views on the proposition that with the issuance of Karnataka’s circulars, the SC certificates held by the appellants stood automatically revoked, and they were brought under the unreserved category with effect from March 1987.”
The Supreme Court’s intervention thus provides crucial protection for these employees, ensuring they can retain their jobs despite the changes in caste classification.