Persons with disabilities have right to reservation in promotion: Supreme Court

Persons with disabilities have right to reservation in promotion: Supreme Court

Part of: GS Prelims and GS -II – Judiciary; Rights and duties

In news

• SC ruled that a disabled person can avail the benefit of reservation for promotion even if he or she was recruited in the regular category or developed the disability after gaining employment.
• The 1995 Act (Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995) does not make a distinction between a person who may have entered service on account of disability and a person who may have acquired disability after having entered the service. 
• 1995 Act recognises the right to reservation in promotion 

The background of Reservation in promotion

• In the Indira Sawhney case (1992), SC held that the reservation policy cannot be extended to promotions. 
• However, the 77th Constitutional Amendment inserted clause 4A in article 16 and restored provision of reservations in promotions.
• In Nagaraj judgement (2006), Court laid down three controlling conditions that the state must meet prior to granting SC/ST a reservation in promotion: 
  • state must show that backwardness of the class 
  • class is inadequately represented in position or service 
  • reservations are in the interest of Administrative efficiency 
• In Jarnail Singh case (2018), it struck down the demonstration of backwardness provision from Nagaraj judgement.

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