High Court Quashes Socio-Economic Criteria in Haryana Government Jobs

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declared the socio-economic criteria used by the Haryana government to grant additional marks to certain classes of candidates in state government jobs as unconstitutional. This landmark ruling was pronounced by a division bench on Friday, asserting that the practice violated Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Indian Constitution.

Details of the Ruling

Sarthak Gupta, counsel for one of the petitioners, announced the court’s decision, emphasizing that the practice of awarding extra marks or bonus marks to specific candidate classes has been deemed unconstitutional. The court’s order came in response to a series of petitions challenging the socio-economic criteria.

Petitioners and Legal Arguments

Arpit Gahlawat was the lead petitioner, with several others joining the challenge later. The petitioners argued that the Haryana government’s policy of providing additional marks in the recruitment process for Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ category jobs was arbitrary and discriminatory.

The socio-economic criteria provided additional marks to candidates based on factors such as not having any family members in government jobs, being state-domiciled, and having a family income not exceeding ₹1.80 lakh per annum. Petitioners contended that this policy unfairly discriminated against other candidates and violated the principle of equal opportunity in public employment.

Constitutional Violations

The court found that the socio-economic criteria were in contravention of:

• Article 14: Guaranteeing equality before the law.
• Article 15: Prohibiting discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
• Article 16: Ensuring equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.

The petitioners argued that additional marks based on socio-economic status were unjustified when reservations for economically weaker sections (EWS) and socially backward classes such as Scheduled Castes (SC) and Backward Classes (BC) were already in place.

Future Implications

This ruling sets a significant precedent for government recruitment policies across India. It underscores the necessity of merit-based recruitment and the careful consideration required in implementing policies aimed at affirmative action. The court’s decision reinforces the constitutional mandate for equal opportunity and non-discrimination in public employment.

Next Steps

The detailed order from the court is yet to be released, but the immediate effect is the nullification of the current socio-economic criteria used in Haryana’s government job recruitments. This ruling will require the Haryana government to revise its recruitment policies to comply with constitutional standards.

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