Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Says the Government Will Approach Supreme Court On Quota Order (Image:twitter/Dchautala)
The Haryana government, reportedly, will approach the Supreme Court of India questioning the drop of the Haryana law, which mandated 75 per cent reservation for residents of the state in private-sector jobs. The law was struck down by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday. “We will go to Supreme Court”, said Dushyant Chautala, the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana, to NDTV. According to the court, the law was “unconstitutional”.
As said by Mr Chautala, the government is waiting for the court order to be published online. The state will then consult legal remedies and move to the apex court to put a stay on the current order. Providing 75 per cent reservation in private sector jobs for state domiciled candidate was a key poll promise of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) at the time of 2019 assembly polls. JJP is a junior partner in the BJP-led alliance of the state of Haryana, which is ruled by Manohar Lal Khattar in the Chief Ministerial position.
The law was introduced in the legislature as the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, and was passed in the assembly in November 2020. It eventually received the governor’s assent in March 2021. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had stayed the Act in February 2022, but the order had been set aside by the Supreme Court days later following an appeal by the state government.
#Exclusive | “We will move the Supreme Court”: Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala (@Dchautala) on High Court scrapping quota law. #Haryana #Reservation pic.twitter.com/PH10B1u8Kx
— NDTV (@ndtv) November 18, 2023
According to Mr Chautala, the state had the vision to generate employment at the local level. He stated that the law would reduce transportation and accommodation cost, and encourages local skilled labour. Before formulating the Act, industries were consulted and their views were incorporated, he added while speaking to NDTV.
But as of now, the Punjab and Haryana High Court stated that the private employers could not be forced to employ persons from a particular state. In the order, the court added that discriminating against individuals based on their state would be negative treatment against other citizens of the country, reported India Today. The order was made by the division bench comprised of Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan. According to them, the law violated Part lll of Indian Constitution.
