General category employment in government services open to all: SC

The Supreme Court has said the general category vacancies in public employment is open to all including aspirants belonging to reserved categories like other backward classes (OBCs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

 A bench comprising justices U ULalit, RavindraBhat and Hrishikesh Roy said that disallowing meritorious candidates of reserved categories to migrate and get selected under general category would amount to “communal reservation”.

   

 “The principle that candidates belonging to any of the vertical reservation categories are entitled to be selected in “Open or General Category” is well settled. It is also well accepted that if such candidates belonging to reserved categories are entitled to be selected on the basis of their own merit, their selection cannot be counted against the quota reserved for the categories for vertical reservation that they belong,” Justice Lalit, who wrote for himself and Justice Roy, said.

Justice Bhat, who wrote a separate concurring judgment, said, “The open category is not a ‘quota’, but is rather available to all women and men alike.”

He said, “the open category is open to all, and the only condition for a candidate to be shown in it is merit, regardless of whether reservation benefit of either type is available to her or him.”

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