New Delhi, Sep 26: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pronounced its judgment on the government's plea seeking reconsideration of 2006 judgment laying down the criteria for reservation in promotion for SC/ST employees. The Supreme Court's five-judge bench refused to refer the Nagaraj judgement to a larger bench and said there is no need to collect data on SC/ST in reservation in promotion in government services.

"The judgment in M Nagaraj need not be referred to seven-judge Bench, Supreme Court. However, Nagaraj to the extent it directs the collection of quantifiable data is contrary to Indra Swahney 1", the Court said. The Court also said, "To the extent M Nagaraj v. Union of India directs the collection of quantifiable data for providing reservations, the judgment is wrong".

The verdict has come on a batch of petitions seeking that a seven-judge bench reconsiders the court’s 2006 judgement which had put conditions for granting quota benefits in job promotions for SC/ST employees.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra pronounced the verdict. The bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph, RF Nariman, SK Kaul and Indu Malhotra, had reserved its verdict on August 30 after hearing various stakeholders, including the Centre, on the matter.

The bench had earlier said that there may be individuals (within SC/ST) who might have overcome the stigma, but the community continues to face the stigma. The top court by its 2006 judgment, also known as Nagaraj case, had said: "...state will have to show in each case the existence of compelling reasons, namely backwardness, the inadequacy of representation and overall administrative efficiency, before making provision for reservation in promotion."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2018 10:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).