C.W.P.No.5248 of 2008 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P.No.5248 of 2008 Date of Decision : 31.03.2008 All India General Category Employees Welfare Association and another ....Petitioners versus Union of India and others .....Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE HEMANT GUPTA HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE MOHINDER PAL Present : Shri Divjyot S.Sandhu, Advocate for the petitioner. -.- 1. Whether Reporters of Local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? JUDGMENT HEMANT GUPTA, J. The challenge in the present writ petition is to the Clause 9.2.3 of the promotion policy applicable to the nationalized Insurance companies. The said clause reads as under:- “An Officer shall be declared as having qualified the written test provided he secures 50 (45 for SC/ST Officers with effect from Promotion Exercise 2008-09) or more marks as per the evaluation done by the Examining body. Officer securing marks below the minimum qualifying marks shall not be considered in the further process of promotion for the year concerned.” Learned counsel for the petitioner has sought to argue that the candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe C.W.P.No.5248 of 2008 2 Categories as well as that of the General Category are working in the same environment and, therefore, there is no justification for relaxing the minimum marks for qualifying written test from 50% to 45% for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories. The argument raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner cannot be accepted for the reason that in terms of Article 16 (4) (A) of the Constitution of India, as amended by the 85th Constitutional Amendment and made applicable retrospectively w.e.f. 17.6.1995, the State is authorized to make reservations in the promotions as well. In view of the said fact, we do not find that the challenge to the said clause, which is a matter of policy, has any merit for consideration before this Court, in exercise of writ jurisdiction. The writ petition stands dismissed. (HEMANT GUPTA) JUDGE 31-03-2008 (MOHINDER PAL) *mohinder JUDGE