Supreme Court upholds validity of Karnataka government’s law for reservation in promotion and seniority to SC and ST employees

The Supreme Court has recently upheld the constitutional validity of the Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (to the Posts in the Civil Services of the State) Act, 2018. The new Karnataka 2018 law grants reservation in promotion and seniority to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) employees in the state. This judgment is significant as Karnataka becomes the first State to gain from a Constitution (5-judge) Bench order of September 2018 that modified a 2006 order requiring the States to show quantifiable data to prove the “backwardness” of a SC/ST community in order to provide quota in promotion in public employment.