HYDERABAD: The state government has decided to implement 33.33% horizontal reservations for women without earmarking any roster points in direct recruitments in each category — OC, SEBC-A, SEBC-B, SEBC-C, SEBC-D, SEBC-E, EWS, SC, ST, persons with disabilities, ex-servicemen and meritorious sportspersons — for which men and women are equally suited.
The government, while suppressing the earlier orders, issued a GO amending the Telangana State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1996.
The Amendments were made to rule 22 and 22-A. All the recruitment agencies under the state government, government undertakings, quasi-government institutions, including government-aided institutions and local bodies are directed to implement the reservation in favour of women accordingly, according to a GO issued by Women and Child Welfare Secretary Vakati Karuna.
While deciding to implement horizontal reservations for women, the state government followed the judgment given by the Supreme Court. The apex court in the case of Rajesh Kumar Daria vs Rajasthan Public Service Commission stated that ‘social reservations in favour of SC, ST and OBC under Article 16(4)’ are ‘vertical reservations’.
Special reservations in favour of physically handicapped, women/ etc., under Article 16 (1) or 15 (3) are ‘horizontal reservations’.
Where a vertical reservation is made in favour of a Backward Class under Article 16 (4), the candidates belonging to such Backward Class may compete for non-reserved posts and if they are appointed to the non-reserved posts on their merit, their number will not be counted against the quota reserved for the respective Backward Class.
Therefore, if the number of SC candidates, who by their merit, get selected to open competition vacancies, equals or even exceeds the percentage of posts reserved for SC candidates, it cannot be said that the quota for SCs stood filled.
The entire quota will be intact and available in addition to those selected under the open competition category. But the said principle applicable to vertical (social) reservations, will not apply to horizontal (special) reservations. Where a special quota for women is provided within the social reservations for SCs, the proper procedure is first to fill up the quota for SCs in order of merit and then find out the number of candidates among them who belong to the special reservation group of ‘Scheduled Caste women’’.
If the number of women in such a list is equal to or more than the number of special quotas, then there is no need for further selection towards the special quota. Only if there is any shortfall, the requisite number of SC women shall have to be taken by deleting the corresponding number of candidates from the bottom of the list relating to Scheduled Castes’. The same view was taken by the apex court in its judgment in the public service commission, Uttaranchal, the GO mentioned.
It may be recalled here that in 1996, the state government issued orders fixing the roster points for women in the existing 100-point roster in terms of Rule 22 of the State and Subordinate Service Rules. In the same year, the government issued another GO introducing the carry-forward principle in respect of reservation in favour of women on par with Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and BCs in the matter of direct recruitment. With the latest GO, the vacant posts of women would not be carried forward for next year.
What it means
While vertical reservation is for the people belonging to the marginalised communities such as SCs and STs, horizontal reservation is for other disadvantaged groups like women, transgender people and people with disabilities, among others