Published on: December 05, 2023 at 12:40 IST
Court: Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh
Citation: Deepak Kumar V. Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission (2021)
Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh has held that Meritocracy is superior than reservation. It is held that if a person belonging to Scheduled Caste category, performs on merits better than General category candidates, then such person has to be offered appointment against a post meant for General category. It is held that such meritorious persons cannot be pushed down so as to occupy a post reserved for Scheduled Caste category.
7. Having heard learned counsel for the petitioner, this Court is of the considered view that there is no merit in the present petition. It is settled law of the land that a person belonging to Scheduled Caste category, if on merit, performs better than General category candidates, then he has to be offered appointment against a post meant for General category and he cannot be pushed down so as to occupy a post reserved for Scheduled Caste category only.
The reason and rational behind the said law as laid by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India is that if a person belonging to Scheduled Caste category or may Scheduled Tribe category, is in a position to gain employment on his own merit by scoring marks at level with persons belonging to General category candidates, then such a candidate has to be offered a post belonging to General category so that other Scheduled Caste/Tribe candidates can be appointed against the posts which are reserved for that particular category.
Drafted By Abhijit Mishra
