AHMEDABAD: In an important order prescribing how the women’s quota can be implemented, the Supreme Court has upheld the Gujarat high court’s order in which it explained the proper and correct method of implementing horizontal reservation, by following seven steps.
The issue pertains to the shifting of meritorious women candidates from caste quotas to the general category. The SC said those who score more marks in the SC/ST or OBC quota should be accommodated in the general category, and the vacant seats of that category be filled with candidates belonging to that particular category only.
On Friday, while dealing with the issue of implementation of women’s reservation in recruitment for police personnel by the Uttar Pradesh government, a bench of Justices Uday Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and Hrishikesh Roy observed, “We must say that the steps indicated by the high court of Gujarat in para 56 of its judgment in Tamannaben Ashokbhai Desai contemplate the correct and appropriate procedure for considering and giving effect to both vertical and horizontal reservations.”
The apex court further said, “It is true that the exercise of laying down a procedure must necessarily be left to the concerned authorities but we may observe that one set out in said judgment will certainly satisfy all claims and will not lead to any incongruity as highlighted by us in the preceding paragraphs.”
On August 5, the bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice J B Pardiwala had quashed provisions of the August 1, 2018 Government Resolution and cleared the path for caste quota candidates in the general category so far as reservation for women was concerned.
The HC made it clear that among caste quotas, a woman belonging to a category can compete with women of the same category and not with women from other categories. But the toppers always stand a chance to shift to the general quota. The HC also clarified, “There is no reservation for posts in the General Category, and horizontal reservation in favour of women in the General Category is available to be filled up from among all women irrespective of their caste status.”