Consider the following statements :
Statement- I: The Supreme Court of India has held in some judgments that the reservation policies made under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India would be limited by Article 335 for maintenance of efficiency of administration.
Statement- II: Article 335 of the Constitution of India defines the term ‘efficiency of administration’.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
(a) Both Statement- I and Statement- II are correct and Statement- II is the correct explanation for Statement- I
(b) Both Statement- I and Statement- II are correct and Statement- II is not the correct explanation for Statement- I
(c) Statement- I is correct but Statement- II is incorrect
(d) Statement- I is incorrect but Statement- II is correct
Answer- c
Explanation:
Article 335. Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and posts.—The claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State:
Provided that nothing in this article shall prevent in the making of any provision in favour of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes for relaxation in qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in matters or promotion to any class or classes of services or posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
While adjudicating the validity of various reservation policies the Supreme Court of India has consistently referred to the notions of “efficiency” and “merit” in several judgments (Indra Sawhney and Others v Union of India and Others 1993; M Nagaraj and Others v Union of India and Others 2006) court held that the reservation policies made under Article 16(4) of the Constitution would be limited by Article 335, which provides for “maintenance of efficiency of administration,” while considering the claims of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the making of appointments to public services and posts.
The Constitution does not define the term “efficiency of administration.”
This gap in interpretation was filled by a two-judge bench in the B K Pavitra (II) v Union of India (2019), as it held that “efficiency of administration in the affairs of the union or of a state must be defined in an inclusive sense, where diverse segments of society find representation as a true aspiration of governance by and for the people.”
Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
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