In what is seen as a significant setback for the Haryana government, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh on Friday overturned the state government's law enforcing a 75% reservation in the private sector for Haryana domiciles, deeming it "unconstitutional."
The job quota, a key electoral promise of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), a partner in the BJP-JJP coalition government, was instituted by the coalition government in November 2021. The law mandated a 75% quota for local youth in private sector jobs with a monthly salary of less than Rs 30,000, effective from January 15, 2022. The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020, was passed by the Haryana assembly on March 2, 2021, and received approval from the Governor. The state labor department issued a notification on November 6, 2021.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court's ruling, delivered by the Bench of Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan, followed a petition filed by various industry associations and other petitioners challenging the quota.
The petitioners argued that the impugned Act was in violation of the Constitution and the fundamental principles of meritocracy, which form the foundation for businesses to grow and remain competitive. They contended that private sector jobs are awarded based on the skills and analytical abilities of employees who, as Indian citizens, have constitutional rights to seek employment anywhere in the country.
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Additionally, the petitioners asserted that the act of compelling employers to hire local candidates in the private sector, as per the impugned Act, amounted to a violation of the federal structure established by the Constitution.
This court decision has significant implications for the employment landscape in Haryana, prompting a reassessment of the constitutional validity of such reservation policies in the private sector.
