HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Hyderabad High Court has directed the authorities of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that they should collect the quantifiable data and exclude creamy layer if they make any promotions based on the rule of reservation and give consequential seniority to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees.
The bench comprising Justice PV Sanjay Kumar and Justice M Ganga Rao passed this order on Monday in respect of appeals filed by K Bharathi and others challenging the order of a single judge, who directed the TTD not to make promotions based on the rule of reservation without collecting the quantifiable data.
In February this year, the single judge allowed the petitions filed by J Subramanyam and others of the rank of deputy executive officers, challenging the action of the TTD in giving consequential seniority to SC and ST employees who were promoted based on the rule of reservation. Their counsel Lakshmi Narasimha contended that the TTD action was contrary to the judgement of the Supreme Court in BV Patra case.
The apex court held that such promotions can be given only after obtaining quantifiable data and that all promotions so far made without obtaining such data were liable to be reviewed, the council added.
Relying on the judgment of the Supreme Court, the single judge allowed the petitions. Aggrieved by this, the appeals were filed before the division bench by those who were promoted under the rule of reservation.
During the course of hearing of the appeals, advocate Lakshmi Narasimha brought to the notice of the division bench about the recent apex court verdict in Jarnail Singh’s case wherein it was held that before making any promotions under the rule of reservation, it was imperative that the State should obtain quantifiable data for each cadre, exclude all such SC and ST employees who belong to creamy layer and so on.
Unless and until these were implemented, no promotions could be given by any State under the rule of reservation, he argued.