Quota for SC/ST is not against the principle of meritocracy: SC

NEW DELHI: Holding that merit must not seen in a narrow perspective such as performance in an exam but be considered as part of larger societal goals of ensuring equality for marginalised sections, the Supreme Court on Friday said while upholding reservations in promotion for SCs and STs in Karnataka.
“Once we understand merit as instrumental in achieving goods that we as a society value, we see that the equation of merit with performance at a few narrowly defined criteria is incomplete. A meritocratic system is one that rewards actions that result in the outcomes that we as a society value,” said a bench of Justices U U Lalit and DY Chandrachud.
This is the first time that the apex court has upheld the law on promotion in reservation after SC allowed the provision in 2006. Many other states have also framed laws but failed to pass the judicial test for not fulfilling criteria set in 2006 such as surveys on representation of SCs and STs department wise.
“Thus, providing of reservations for SCs/STs is not at odds with the principle of meritocracy. Merit must not be limited to narrow and inflexible criteria such as one’s rank in an exam, but rather must flow from the actions a society seeks to reward, including the promotion of equality in society and diversity in public administration,” Justice Chandrachudsaid.