DOGRA HERALD BUREAU
New Delhi, Aug 28
The Supreme Court on Wednesday came to the rescue of some employees of the central government and PSU banks, who were facing the threat of termination on the ground that their castes, which were added to the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, were later de-scheduled by the Karnataka government.
“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,” said a bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta while setting aside a Karnataka High Court judgment.
The employees belonging to the Kotegara Scheduled Caste and Kuruba Scheduled Tribe, including K Nirmala, were asked to respond to notices issued by their respective employers — Canara Bank, Oriental Insurance Company Limited and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The PSU employers had said the castes and tribes of these employees are no longer part of the SCs and STs and hence, they cannot be allowed to remain in their jobs, which were earned under reserved categories.
Deciding a batch of petitions, the bench said the common thread is whether a person, who joined the services of a nationalised bank or a Government of India undertaking based on an SC or ST certificate in Karnataka, according to the state’s decision, would be entitled to retain the position after the caste or tribe has been de-scheduled.
“We conclude that the appellants are entitled to protection of their services by virtue of the government circular dated March 29, 2003…. The circular dated March 29, 2003 issued by the Government of Karnataka specifically extended protection to various castes, including those which were excluded in the earlier government circular dated March 11, 2002.
“This subsequent circular covered the castes such as Kotegara, Kotekshathriya, Koteyava, Koteyar, Ramakshathriya, Sherugara and Sarvegara, thus, ensuring that the individuals of these castes, holding Scheduled Caste certificates issued prior to de-scheduling, would be entitled to claim protection of their services albeit as unreserved candidates for all future purposes,” Justice Mehta, who wrote the judgment, said.
The court said the finance ministry, in an August 2005 communication, also reinforced the protective umbrella to the bank employees concerned and saved them from departmental and criminal action.
The verdict referred to a judgment and said the state government has no authority to amend or modify the list of SCs and STs published under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution.
Consequently, the Centre declared Karnataka’s circulars, which included the castes in the list of SCs and STs in the southern state, as invalid, the bench said.
It said 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.
“When these caste certificates were issued, the synonymous caste, as 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 bench said.
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, it added.
