The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court order to stop Haryana’s 75 per cent quota in private jobs for locals. The top court told the state to not take any “coercive steps against the employers”.
The high court order – to halt the reservation for locals – has been put aside as “the court did not give sufficient reasons for staying the law”. Earlier this month, the high court had ordered an interim stay on the Haryana law that gives 75 per cent reservation to the residents of the state. Later, the order was challenged in the Supreme Court by the state government.
While some industry bodies argued that the law was against meritocracy and against the provisions of Constitution, the state government had argued that the law merely makes “geographical classification”, which is permitted under the Constitution. “It is to protect the right to life/livelihood of people domiciled in the state and to protect their health, living condition and their right to employment,” it said.
