High court stays 75% reservation rule in Haryana jobs

Chandigarh, Feb 3 (IANS) In a setback to the BJP-JJP government in Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday stayed the state government law to give 75 per cent reservation to youth belonging to the state in the private sector.

The law under the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 is applicable in industries having more than 10 employees.

A Bench headed by Justice Ajay Tewari, while staying the order, admitted a bunch of petitions challenging the law to provide reservation to the domiciles of the state.

Under the law, a provision has been made to impose a fine, ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, on the industries which do not employ local candidates.

In a petition, the Gurgaon Industrial Association said the impugned Act was against the provisions of Constitution and also against the basic principle of meritocracy that acted as the foundation for businesses to grow and remain competitive.

Fulfilling one of the key poll promise made by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), a crucial coalition partner of the BJP, the law that provides 75 per cent reservation came into effect on January 15.

Elated over the implementation of the legislation, Chautala had said: "Today is a historic day for the youth as from now priority for jobs would be given to the youth of Haryana in all private sector companies, institutions, trusts, societies and industries established in the state."

"With the implementation of this system, new avenues for employment will open for lakhs of youth in the private sector," Chautala had said.

In November last year, the BJP-JJP government had notified the law to implement 75 per cent job reservations for locals in the private sector. It envisaged reservation for local youth in the private sector with an upper limit of gross monthly salary up to Rs 30,000.

The law is applicable for 10 years. The state government also relaxed the residency requirement from 15 to five years for a person to get a bona fide resident certificate in the state to provide some flexibility to the private companies in hiring.

Later, the new startups and Information Technology companies were given exemption for two years under the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act.

Also, short-term (45 days) works have been exempted from this Act.

Likewise, sowing of crops, embroidery, and the primary works related to agriculture-related activities have been exempted. Exemptions have also been given to domestic servants and those industries for which skilled workers are not available.