Reservation for SC/ST & OBCs in Central Govt Services - De-reservation

Reservation for SC/ST & OBCs in Central Govt Services - De-reservation

DoPT Estsblishment (Reservation)

Brochure on Reservation For SC, ST and Other Backward Classes in Services (PART-I)

CHAPTER-7

DE-RESERVATION

7.1 A vacancy reserved for SCs or STs or OBCs cannot be filled by a candidate other than an SC or ST or OBC candidate, as the case may be. However, a reserved vacancy may be declared unreserved by following the procedure of de-reservation as given below whereafter it can be filled as an unreserved vacancy.

De-reservation in case of Direct Recruitment

7.2 There is a general ban on de-reservation of reserved vacancies in case of direct recruitment.

However, in rare and exceptional cases when a vacancy in a Group ‘A’ service cannot be allowed to remain vacant in public interest, the administrative Ministry/Department may prepare a proposal for de-reservation of the vacancy giving following information:

(i) Designation of the post;

(ii) Pay scale of the post;

(iii) Name of the service to which the post belongs;

(iv) Duties and responsibilities attached to the post;

(v) Educational and other qualifications prescribed for the post;

(vi) Efforts made to fill up the post;

(vii) Reasons why it cannot be allowed to remain vacant;

(viii) Justification for de-reservation; and

(ix) Any other relevant information.

7.3 The administrative Ministry shall consult the National Commission for Scheduled Castes

in respect of vacancy reserved for SCs , the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in respect of

vacancy reserved for STs and the National Commission for Backward Classes in respect of vacancy

reserved for OBCs. After obtaining the comments of the concerned Commission, the administrative

Ministry/Department shall place the proposal alongwith the Commission’s comments before a

Committee comprising of the Secretaries in the Department of Personnel and Training, the Ministry

of Social Justice and Empowerment, and the Ministry/Department under which the recruitment is to

be made for consideration and recommendation. The recommendation of the Committee shall be 

placed before the Minister in charge of the Department of Personnel and Training for taking a final

decision. If de-reservation of the vacancy is approved, it can be filled as an unreserved vacancy.

7.4 De-reservation in case of Promotion

In case of promotion, if sufficient number of SC/ST candidates fit for promotion against

reserved vacancies are not available, such vacancies may be de-reserved and filled by the candidates

of other communities. The power to accord approval to de-reservation of the reserved vacancies in

such cases is delegated to the administrative Ministries and Departments subject to the following

conditions:

(i) no candidate belonging to the category for which the vacancy is reserved is

available within the zone of consideration or extended zone of consideration or

eligible for promotion in the feeder cadre(s) specified in the relevant service /

recruitment rules / orders;

(ii) the proposal for de-reservation has been seen and concurred in by the Liaison

Officer of the Ministry / Department;

(iii) the proposal for de-reservation is agreed to at a level not lower than that of Joint

Secretary to the Government of India, in the administrative Ministry / Department

(proper)concerned; and

(iv) in the event of disagreement between the appointing authority and the Liaison

Officer, the advice of the Department of Personnel & Training is obtained.

7.5 Before taking a decision to de-reserve a vacancy under the delegated powers, the administrative

Ministry / Department shall prepare a proposal in the proforma given in the Annexure-I and send

one copy thereof each to the Department of Personnel & Training and the National Commission for

Scheduled Castes in respect of vacancies reserved for SCs and to the National Commission for

Scheduled Tribes in respect of vacancies reserved for STs. After sending the proposal, the

Ministry / Department shall wait for a period of atleast two weeks for the comments of the

Department of Personnel & Training and the concerned National Commission. If no comments are

received from the Department of Personnel & Training or the concerned Commission within two

weeks, the administrative Ministry / Department may presume that the DOPT or the concerned

National Commission, as the case may be, do not have any comments to offer and may take a

decision regarding de-reservation of the vacancy. In case the Ministry / Department receives

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comments from the DOPT or the concerned Commission within two weeks, the comments so

received shall be considered while taking a decision in the matter.

7.6 While sending the copy of the proposal to the Commissions / Department of Personnel &

Training, it should be ensured that the proposal / proforma duly filled in is signed by an officer of

the rank of Under Secretary or above in the administrative Ministry / Department.

7.7 The Attached / Subordinate Offices etc. should not send the proposal direct to the Department

of Personnel and Training or to the concerned National Commission. They should send the proposal

to the administrative Ministry/ Department who will examine the proposal and send it to the

Department of Personnel and Training and to the concerned National Commission.