SC: Reservation in promotion for Persons with Disabilities permissible under Article 16(1); Indra Sawhney bar under Article 16(4) inapplicable

Case Name: Siddaraju v. State of Karnataka & Others
Date of Judgment: JANUARY 14–15, 2020
Citation: Civil Appeal No. 1567 of 2017; Review Petition (C) No. 36 of 2017; Civil Appeal Nos. 299–310 of 2020; Civil Appeal Nos. 6092 & 6095 of 2019

Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice R.F. Nariman, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Aniruddha Bose, and Hon’ble Mr. Justice V. Ramasubramanian.

Held: The Supreme Court affirmed that reservation in promotions for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) is legally permissible. Such reservation flows from Article 16(1) of the Constitution and not Article 16(4). Therefore, the prohibition on reservation in promotions declared in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) does not apply. The Court endorsed earlier rulings in Union of India v. National Federation of the Blind (2013), its clarification in Sanjay Kothari (2015), and Rajeev Kumar Gupta v. Union of India (2016), holding them to be binding on Union and State Governments. Office Memoranda inconsistent with these judgments (e.g., OM dated 29.12.2005) cannot prevail.

Summary: The issue arose from conflicting interpretations on whether Section 33 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 allowed reservation in promotions. Earlier, Rajeev Kumar Gupta (2016) held that once posts are identified under Section 32, reservation under Section 33 must extend to promotions as well, since the bar in Indra Sawhney applies only to caste-based backward class reservations under Article 16(4). On reference, a larger bench clarified that PwD reservations are horizontal in nature, under Article 16(1), and essential for substantive equality. The Court also stressed that failure to implement such reservations denies PwDs full participation in public employment, contrary to constitutional obligations and international conventions. Appeals challenging the applicability of such reservation were dismissed.

Decision: The appeals were disposed of by affirming the binding force of the 2013, 2015, and 2016 judgments. Orders of the CAT and High Courts contrary to these rulings were set aside. The Union and all States must implement 3% reservation in promotions for PwDs in all identified posts. Contempt petitions were revived for non-compliance.