A division bench of the Telangana High Court, hearing a writ petition challenging the rise in reservations for Scheduled Tribes (ST) in education and government jobs on Tuesday, issued notices to key government officials.
Perkampally Shyam Sundar Reddy and other Group 1 aspirants filed a writ petition questioning the legality of GO 33 issued by the principal secretary of the Tribal Welfare department on September 30, 2022, raising the reservations for STs from 6% to 10% in educational institutions and state government services. The petitioners argued that this increase breaches the upper ceiling limit of 50% for reservations to Scheduled Castes (SC), STs and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as mandated under Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Indian Constitution. They also contend that this move disregards previous rulings by the Supreme Court of India. The matter was adjourned to June 28.
SBI told to ensure parity in punishment to staffers
Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao of the Telangana High Court on Saturday highlighted the necessity of parity in punishments for co-delinquents, criticising the State Bank of India (SBI) for discrepancies in disciplinary actions against its branch managers. The verdict came in response to a petition filed by PTM Gopala Krishna, former Manager of SBI, Moula Ali branch, who was dismissed from service for his alleged involvement in the issuance of fake bank loan sanction letters for overseas education.
Gopala Krishna, along with two other bank managers, was accused of orchestrating a scheme involving fraudulent loan sanction letters. Despite facing similar allegations, the disciplinary authority of the bank administered minor penalties such as a reduction in increments to the other two managers, while Gopala Krishna bore the brunt with the severe punishment of removal from service. The court rebuked the SBI for the discrepancy in punishments and urged a reconsideration of the severity of Krishna’s penalty.