New Delhi, 28 Aug

Supreme Court on Wednesday came to the rescue of some employees of the Central government and PSU banks, who were facing the threat of termination on the ground that their castes, which were added to the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, were later de-scheduled by the Karnataka government.

"We hold that the proposed action of the respondent banks/undertakings in issuing notice(s) to the appellants to show cause as to why their services may not be terminated cannot be sustained and are hereby quashed," said a bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta while setting aside a Karnataka High Court judgment.

The employees belonging to the Kotegara Scheduled Caste and Kuruba Scheduled Tribe, including K Nirmala, were asked to respond to notices issued by their respective employers -- Canara Bank, Oriental Insurance Company Limited and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The PSU employers had said the castes and tribes of these employees are no longer part of the SCs and STs and hence, they cannot be allowed to remain in their jobs, which were earned under reserved categories.

Deciding a batch of petitions, the bench said the common thread is whether a person, who joined the services of a nationalised bank or a Government of India undertaking based on an SC or ST certificate in Karnataka, according to the state's decision, would be entitled to retain the position after the caste or tribe has been de-scheduled.

The verdict referred to a judgment and said the State government has no authority to amend or modify the list of SCs and STs published under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution. -PTI