The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday stayed reservation for Jats and members of five other communities — Jat Sikhs, Muslim Jats, Bishnois, Rors and Tyagis — provided by the Haryana government under a newly carved Backward Classes (C) category.
The High Court passed the order after hearing a petition challenging the constitutional validity of The Haryana Backward Classes (reservation in services and admission in educational institutions) Act 2016 that was passed unanimously by the State Assembly on March 29.
The interim order was passed by a Bench headed by Justice S.S. Saron.
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The Act was challenged by Murari Lal Gupta of Bhiwani, who was seeking a direction to quash block ‘C’ of the Act, which provides reservation to the Jat community under a newly carved Backward Classes (C) category.
The petitioner submitted that reservation has been provided under the new Act on the basis of the Justice K.C. Gupta commission report, which the Supreme Court has already quashed.
Counsel for the petitioner stated that providing reservation on the basis of the Commission report was tantamount to the revision of a judicial order, which the legislature cannot do.
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It was further submitted in the petition that in 2014 as well, the State government introduced such a Bill to include Jats in the list of other backward classes for reservation in jobs and educational institutes.
However, the Supreme Court, in the case of Ram Singh and others versus the Union of India, had held that Jats were not backward socially, educationally and politically.