During the hearing on Monday in the highly controversial case related to reservation in promotions in Madhya Pradesh, the High Court expressed strong displeasure with the Government’s stance. The division bench of Justice Vivek Agrawal and Justice Vinay Saraf clearly stated that the quantifiable data prepared under Rule 5 of the Promotion Rules 2025 is not a Government secret and should be shared with the respondents. The court also acknowledged that the Government had not fully complied with the orders of October 16 and October 28, 2025. When the Advocate General argued that the data had been kept in a sealed envelope as per the earlier instructions, the court stated that no such instructions were on record, just as the Advocate General’s verbal assurances are also not part of the record. Senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, representing the Government during the hearing, argued that the data was kept in a sealed cover. Citing Supreme Court orders, reiterated his previous arguments and raised the issue of stalled promotions and lakhs of vacant posts.

 

Advocate Manish Sharma, representing the general category, demanded a stay on the Government’s ongoing promotions. Senior advocate Mohammad Ali filed an intervention petition on behalf of the employees who have not been promoted, which will be presented at the next hearing. The Government also argued that the petitioners are on deputation and will not be affected by the promotions. The court clarified that even though the officers are on deputation, any promotion in their parent department will directly impact them. The court stated that the respondents cannot raise objections without providing complete data, and therefore, sharing the complete records is essential under the principles of natural justice. The division bench directed the Government to provide the complete data of all studies and surveys conducted under Rule 5 to the respondents by the next day and to inform the court of the same. The respondents were also allowed to file their objections by July 17. The court said in its order that it wanted to hear the matter daily, but considering Justice Vinay Saraf’s busy schedule in the OBC reservation case and the availability of senior advocates, the next hearing will now be held on July 21 at 2:30 pm.