Last Updated on February 7, 2024 by News Desk
The Supreme Court has issued notice on the Haryana government’s order to challenge the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision to quash a law reserving 75% of private job positions for local candidates in Haryana.
The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, which was struck down last year, provided for 75% of private-sector jobs with a monthly salary or wages of less than Rs 30,000 being reserved for people with a resident or domicile certificate. The domicile requirement had also been brought down from 15 years to five.
The petition against the law was filed by the Gurugram Industrial Association and other employer bodies. The petitioners argued that the sons-of-the-soil concept behind the law was an infringement of the constitutional rights of employers and that the Act was against the principles of justice, equality, liberty, and fraternity enshrined in the Constitution.
Several arguments have been made regarding domicile reservation so far, including the equality of opportunity in government jobs, the provision of provisions in government appointments with respect to residence, and the use of other criteria like language tests or proof of having resided/studied in the state for a certain period of time. Some states have used loopholes in the laws to reserve government jobs for locals, such as Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, and Karnataka.
Court judgments on domicile reservation include the Allahabad High Court striking down a recruitment notification in 2019, the Supreme Court ruling that residence cannot be a basis for preferential reservation or treatment, and the Supreme Court holding domicile reservation, especially in educational institutions, as constitutional.
Case Title: State of Haryana vs. Faridabad Industries Association and Anr.
Written by: Srijan Raj, @procrastinate_human
