The Supreme Court has, in a recent significant judgement, Saurav Yadav versus State of Uttar Pradesh observed that the candidates belonging to reserved category, are eligible to fill general/open category vacancies also; that this principle should also be followed while filling vacancies in horizontal reservations in open category. It rejected the implicit assumption that the open category is ‘reserved’ for those who are not entitled to reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs.

The ruling Dismissed the prevailing rulings of Certain High Courts which rules that for effecting horizontal reservation, the candidates from reserved categories can be adjusted only against their own categories under the concerned vertical reservation and not against the “Open or General Category.

They reiterate the principle that groups eligible for horizontal reservation cannot be excluded from the open category seats because they are from other vertically reserved category communities, like SC or OBC. Women from all categories are eligible to be considered for the open category.

LEARNING FROM HOME/ WITHOUT CLASSES/ BASICS

The Indian Constitution contains provisions for Right to Equality in Articles 14 to 18. The Preamble of the Indian Constitution also provides for the right to equal status and opportunity to the citizens of India.

Articles 15(4) and 16(4) enable vertical reservation based on slotting the population in terms of SC, ST, OBC and General Category.

But there is also a class of reservations which cuts across all these categories and are referred to as horizontal reservation(Articles 14, 15(3)16(1)). These can include reservation for women, differently-abled persons, freedom fighters, army veterans and other categories to whom we may choose to provide reservation.

Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, which prohibits discrimination of Indians on basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

 15(2): No citizen shall be denied access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and palaces of public entertainment

Article 15 (3) and (4)

(3)The Article also states that the article cannot be used as an argument to make special provisions for women, children or any other backward classes.

(4)“Nothing in this article or in clause ( 2 ) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes,” the article states.

Article 16 deals with the equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.

No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office under the State.

(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament from making any law prescribing, in regard to a class or classes of employment or appointment to an office under the Government of, or any local or other authority within, a State or Union territory, any requirement as to residence within that State or Union territory prior to such employment or appointment

(4) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favor of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.

Article 16(4-A), inserted vide Constitution (Seventy-Seventh) Amendment Act, 1995, introduced the provision of reservation in matters of promotion with consequential seniority. (The provision of ‘Consequential Seniority’ was introduced vide Constitution (Eighty- Fifth) Amendment Act, 2001).