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:[ In Article 335 of the Constitution, the following proviso shall be inserted at the end]Provided that nothing in this article shall prevent in 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 of promotion to any class or classes of services or posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.[Editorial comment-The Constitution (Eighty-second Amendment) Act, 2000, provides that nothing in Article 355 shall prevent the state from making any provisions in favor of members of SC/ST for relaxation of qualifying scores for exams, services, or promotions. Members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have benefited from the relaxation of qualifying marks as well as assessment requirements in areas of reservation in promotion. In the case of S. Vinod Kumar vs Union of India, the Supreme Court ruled that, in light of the directive in Article 335 of the Constitution, such relaxations in the rules governing reservations in promotions were not permissible under Article 16(4) of the Constitution. The Supreme Court's Constitution Bench of nine judges heard the case of Indira Sawhney and others vs Union of India and others, and established that exemptions of qualifying marks and norms of evaluation in matters of reservation in promotion were not allowed, according to the decision of the Supreme Court.Also Refer ]
