New Delhi: Despite an all-party consensus giving the government a
go ahead to bring in a constitutional amendment for reservations in
promotions, there are fresh hurdles.
Attorney General GE
Vahanavati has cautioned the government on this proposal saying it could
be easily challenged and may not stand in a court of law.
This
he says, because the proposed amendments may be vulnerable to challenge
on the ground that the basic fundamentals of equality and the structure
of the constitution are violated.
The Supreme Court has held that three aspects needs to be looked into
for reservations in promotions. That being backwardness, inadequacy of
representation and overall administrative efficiency. It went on to say
that only if these criteria are met then promotions given to people from
the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes would be valid.
The
country's top law officer has advised the government to bring in
validating clauses to ensure that these aspects are looked into before
bringing in the amendment.
The Attorney General also says the
observations of the Supreme Court not only relate to the basic structure
of the Constitution but also the fundamentals of equality. Any
amendments to those aspects are likely to be challenged and it is
difficult to predict what the court would hold.
He goes on to
say if court takes a positive or wider view ( and not a restricted view )
of equality and upholds the contention that there can be no equality if
a vast section of the people are denied an opportunity for advancement
then the amendment could be sustained.
The Congress Party and the government has said they would bring a constitutional amendment which is legally sustainable.
Most
political parties have given their concurrence and the Samajwadi Party
even wanted this reservation in promotions to be extended to backward
classes and minorities.
Source : http://www.ndtv.com
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