Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
Adarsh Kumar Goel and U.U. Lalit

JUDGMENT

Adarsh Kumar Goel, J.

1. These appeals involve the question of validity of the Karnataka Determination of Seniority of the Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (To the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act, 2002 (the impugned Act). The Act inter alia provides for grant of consequential seniority to the Government servants belonging to Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes promoted under reservation policy. It also protects consequential seniority already accorded from 27^th April, 1978 onwards.

2. The validity of the Act was challenged before this Court by way of Writ Petition (Civil) No. 61 of 2002 titled M. Nagaraj and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors. The issue referred to larger Bench in the writ petition along with connected matters was decided by this Court on 19^th October¹. While upholding the constitutional validity of the Constitution (seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995; the Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment) Act, 2000; the Constitution (Eighty-Second Amendment) Act, 2000 and the Constitution (Eighty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2001, individual matters were remitted to the appropriate Bench². Thereafter, the matter was remitted back to the High Court for deciding the question of validity of the said enactment³.

3. The petition was re-numbered by the High Court as Writ Petition (Civil) No. 14672 of 2010. The High Court by the impugned judgment has held the Act to be valid. The question framed for determination by the High Court is as follows:

Whether the State Government has shown the compelling reasons, namely, backwardness, inadequacy of representation and overall administrative efficiency before making provision for reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in matters of promotion and as to whether the extent of reservation provided for promotion in favour of the persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at 15% and 3% respectively, in Karnataka is justified?

4. It will be appropriate to notice the factual matrix relevant to determine the controversy. Policy of reservation in promotion was introduced in the State of Karnataka vide Government Order dated 2........