Courts Cannot Ask States To Provide Quota

Courts can't ask states to provide quota in promotions, says Supreme Court-DNA-11.01.2015

The Constitution enables governments to provide for reservation of SC/ST category employees even in promotions but courts cannot direct them to make such a provision, the Supreme Court has ruled.

A bench of justices J Chelameswar and A K Sikri, however, said the aggrieved employees, belonging to SC/ST categories, can themselves seek redressal from the court if they are denied the rightful promotions.

"Insofar as making of provisions for reservation in matters of promotion to any class or classes of post is concerned, such a provision can be made in favour of SC/ST category employees if, in the opinion of the State, they are not adequately represented in services under the State.
"Thus, no doubt, power lies with the State to make a provision, but, at the same time, courts cannot issue any mandamus to the State to necessarily make such a provision. It is for the State to act, in a given situation, and to take such an affirmative action," the bench said.

Whenever, there exists such a provision for reservation in the matters of recruitment or promotion, it would bestow an enforceable right in favour of persons belonging to SC/ST category and on failure on the part of authorities to reserve posts in selections or promotions, the employees concerned can move the court to get their rights enforced, it said.
The court discussed the clause 4 and 4A of Article 16, which deal with quota in promotions in services also in its verdict and said these are "only the enabling provisions which permit the State to make provision for reservation of these category of persons".

The court's observations came while deciding a plea of Central Bank of India SC/ST Employees Welfare Association and others which had challenged the decision of the bank not to grant reservation in promotions in all categories.

The PSU bank had taken the stand that there was no rule of reservation for promotion in the Class A (Class-I) to the posts/scales having basic salary of more than Rs 5,700.
The court, in its 36-page verdict, said, "While setting aside the impugned judgment of the high court to the extent it holds that office memorandum dated 13-8-1997 makes a provision for reservation, it is clarified that at present there is no provision for reservation in promotion by selection only in respect of those posts which carry an ultimate salary of 5,700 per month ...

"Qua appellant banks, that would be in respect of Scale-VII and above. Therefore, to carry out promotions from Scale-I up wards up to Scale-VI, reservation in promotion in favour of SC/ST employees has to be given.

"It would have the effect of allowing the writ petitions filed by the respondents/unions partly with directions to the appellant Banks to make provision for reservations while carrying out promotions from Scale-I to to Scale-II and upward up to Scale-VI."
The bank had said that as per the promotion policy, the candidates belonging to SC/ST category have been given reservation at the initial level of recruitment and also for promotion in the clerical cadre.

"Such a reservation is also provided for promotion from clerical grade to the lowest rank in the officers grade which is commonly known as Junior Management Grade Scale-I (Scale-I).

"However, when it comes to promotion from Scale-I to the next scale, which is known as Middle Management Grade Scale-II (Scale-II), the Banks have not been making any reservations while carrying out these promotions," the bank had said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-courts-can-t-ask-states-to-provide-quota-in-promotions-says-supreme-court-2051574

Government may take up ordinance route to set up Postal Bank-Firstpost

New Delhi: The government is looking at taking the legislative route, by next month, to finalise the setting up of Postal Bank of India and will soon approach RBI to consider the postal department's application for banking licence.

In a recent meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Department of Posts (DoP) said that it is ready to move into the banking space by becoming a universal bank, sources said.

According to a presentation given to the Prime Minister, DoP, in consultation with the government, may approach RBI this month to consider its original application for a universal bank, the source said.

"Simultaneously, modalities for the alternative of taking the legislative route to set up Postal Bank of India (PBI) would be worked out in February," the source said.
The meeting, which was also attended by Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, discussed the proposals of the 'Task Force on Leveraging the Post Office Network' and the way forward to implement the recommendations.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August last year said that the Union government has to take a final call on application for banking licence by DoP.
The sources said to begin with, DoP proposes to have Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) to run parallel to the PBI, which can eventually become part of the PBI as suggested by the Task Force.

The source said post offices as front of PBI shall offer full banking services to the customers whereas PBI branches shall only handle the back office operations such as processing of loan applications, credit worthiness and risk assessment, investment operations etc.
"PBI will also offer the facility of opening institutional accounts, like for panchayats, micro credit agencies, along with new schemes and market linked rates," the source added.
Modi had set up the Task Force in 2014 to leverage the postal network in India and to enhance the role of India Post in financial inclusion, among other services like delivery of goods for eCommerce firms.

In December last year, the Task Force had submitted its report to Prasad. It noted that with its Rs 6 lakh crore in deposits, India Post is second only to the country's largest bank SBI.

The report suggested that the government should set up a holding company under the DoP for immediate roll out of banking, insurance and e-commerce services. The holding company should have five different verticals, and three of them -- banking, insurance and e-commerce -- can start working immediately.

 The panel had suggested establishing PBI as a separate entity with a branch in each district in the first three years with initial capital of Rs 500 crore to be funded by the government.

PBI and Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana can compliment each other for financial inclusion, former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian, who headed the task force, had said.