State govt seeks three months time for publishing seniority list

Bengaluru: The State government has sought three months from the Supreme Court to publish a consolidated seniority list of its employees. An affidavit seeking time was submitted on Monday ahead of the hearing of a contempt petition expected to come up in court in the last week of January.

The government was expected to publish the seniority list before January 15, as per the directions of the SC in September 2017. However, with some departments yet to finalise their seniority lists, the government has been unable to publish the comprehensive list, a source said.

The government has cited the pendency 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) Bill, 2017, which was unanimously passed by both the Houses in November.

The government said it is satisfied that compelling reasons continue to exist in Karnataka for providing reservation in recruitment and promotion, and for providing consequential seniority to ensure adequate representation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes across all the departments. “If at this juncture the seniority list is changed and promotions and de-promotions are to be effected, and thereafter the assent of the President is given to the Bill, the entire process of consequential action will have to be redone, which would be a repeat exercise,” the government affidavit says.