BENGALURU: After the recent assent by the President, the state government issued a gazette notification of the controversial ‘Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the basis of Reservation (to the posts in the civil services of the state) Act, 2017’, on Saturday.While this has allowed departments to authorise transfers on the basis of the Act, an association of disgruntled employees are pushing for a stay from the Supreme Court. A case related to seniority is scheduled to come up for hearing on July 4.
The Siddaramaiah government had formulated the Bill after the Supreme Court had struck down reservation in promotion for SC/STs. Though the government had sent the Bill to the President before the elections, it was cleared only on June 14. The new Act will enable the government to circumvent the SC order and promote officials on the basis of consequential seniority.
Speaking to Express, M Nagaraj of AHIMSA — an association of employees that has petitioned the SC, said they will urge the court to stay the order. “We will also request the Court to verify the constitutional validity of the Act. We will convince the court that the state was passing Bills in violation of SC orders,” he said.
A government official said the Act was ‘unconstitutional’. “If they continue with the implementation of the Act, it is certain to rob some candidates of their posts and redistribute it as per consequential seniority,” he said.Sources said the state government might resort to supernumerary — creation of additional posts for people benefitting from consequential reservation which will retire along with the officials.