Local job laws that raise constitutional questions

News: Supreme court is soon to hear the petition on removing the stay on the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act. Punjab and Haryana High Court have stayed the Haryana government’s law guaranteeing 75% reservation to locals in private sector jobs.

What is the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act?

How the reservation job for locals is against the constitutional norms?

The act breaches the notion of equality of all citizens of India. States have enacted laws that limit employment for citizens from outside the State. Over the last three years, three states have enacted laws that limit employment for citizens from outside the State. These laws raise questions on the conception of India as a nation.

The Constitution conceptualises India as one nation with all citizens having equal rights in the country. These State laws go against this vision by restricting the right of out-of-State citizens to find employment in the State.

What are the court cases related to public employment?

Indra Sawhney case in 1992: Supreme Court capped reservations in public services at 50%. It however said that there may be extraordinary situations which may need relaxation in this rule like people of far-flung and remote areas.

In 1995, Rules in Andhra Pradesh that gave preference to candidates who had studied in the Telugu medium were struck down on grounds that they discriminated against more meritorious candidates.

Supreme Court, in 2002, ruled that preference given to applicants from a particular region of Rajasthan for appointment as government teachers was unconstitutional. It said that reservations can be made for backward classes of citizens, but this cannot be solely on account of residence or domicile.

Supreme Court in 2021: Struck down the Maharashtra Act on grounds of breaching the 50% limit, which provided reservations for Marathas.

Source: This post is based on the article” Local job laws that raise constitutional questions ” published in the Indian Express on 11th February 2022.