AGARTALA, March 8 (TIWN): The SC / ST promotion case has been delayed once again as the case reached in Dipak Gupta’s table who once gave verdict of the case in Tripura High Court when he was the Chief Justice. Reportedly the case had placed in a divisional bench chaired by Justice Madan B.Lokur and Deepak Kumar Gupta. But as Gupta was there in the bench, thus the case was delayed.

Now this case will be referred to another bench by the CJ of SC.

 In 2016, March 18 Supreme Court had ruled that scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) members can not claim quota as a right in government job promotions.  But disregarding the order of High Court and Supreme Court, promotion-spree had been continued across Tripura’s various departments till 2017 The promptness is so high that sometimes one promotion list is printing multiple times due to errors in the list. But Tripura Govt came to the line observing 2 things. One was Dipak Gupta's become Supreme Court Justice another is cancellation of 10,000 SC / STs at Karnataka.

Much afraid Tripura Govt sought that the case should be sent back to HC for re-judgment but SC rejected the plea. Following the hearing of promotion case at Supreme Court on Feb 13 and the final verdict was to given on March 7, but the chain of law, court has took the case to Gupta again, which delayed the case once again. The next hearing date will be given soon.

It’s to be mentioned that Tripura High Court on November 2014 led by Chief Justice Dipak Gupta declared that the claims against Tripura govt. had brought were valid enough. In the judgment it was written that “The petitioners who belong to the general category claim that they have been deprived of the right to equality as the State has granted promotions to the reserved category candidates in total violation of the law laid down by the Apex Court in M. Nagaraj and others vs. Union of India and others”.  “The Act and rules framed by the State are unconstitutional and illegal as they violate the law laid down by the WP(C) 189 of 2011; WP(C) 109 of 2011; WP(C) 124 of 2012. Page 7 of 78 7 Apex Court. It is also submitted that the State without collecting or considering the relevant and requisite quantifiable data, cadre-wise as required by law has granted reservation in promotion to the reserved categories”.

Thus HC on its hearing also said that state govt had followed none of the codes and conducts of the promotion act had been maintained by govt. while promoting the officers. But challenging the HC although Tripura Govt had attempted to save the promoted SC / STs, but it can bring mass demotion to them and also massive embarrassments.