SC to hear Centre against Madras HC order on civil services

The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a petition filed by the Centre seeking stay of a Madras High Court decision setting aside the merit list prepared by the Union Public Service Commission relating to civil services for the years 2006 and 2007. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan permitted that the vacation bench will hear the Centre's petition challenging the High Court order holding as "null and void" the rule allowing adjustment of vacancies in the unreserved category with that of reserved category. The High Court had held that Rule 16 (2) of the Examination Rules of the Government of India for Civil Services Examination ran counter to the benefit of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBC candidates and was not affirmative, progressive and pragmatic in achieving social justice. Additional Solicitor General Vikas Singh and Wasim Quadri submitted that the High Court decision was coming in way for declaring the results for this year's examination. They said the results could not be declared and the next preliminary examination for the civil services will be held on Sunday. In all 457 candidates were selected for the final list for the years 2006 and 2007. Of this, 31 OBC and one SC candidate made it through the merit list (unreserved) but at the same time availed their postings under the reserved category. This action by the UPSC, based on Rule 16 (2), deprived equal number of candidates from the said communities of availing the postings, the High Court held. "It amounts to reducing the number of posts reserved for the SC/ST/OBC and adding the same number of posts to the unreserved category, thus making a mockery of the entire rule of reservation," the High Court had said. Instead of helping achieving social justice, the rule was acting against the SC/ST/OBC candidates; the High Court observed and held the "impugned Rule 16 (2)" as unconstitutional and null and void.

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