Punjab and Haryana High Court: By a momentous ruling, the Division Bench of Ajay Tewari and Pankaj Jain, JJ.,[i] imposed stay on implementation of the controversial Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 (3 of 2020).
Acting in furtherance of the key poll promises made by Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), a partner of BJP in Haryana ahead of the Assembly polls in the state in 2019 for providing 75 per cent reservation in the private sector[ii], the BJP led government had enacted the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act 2020. The object of the Act reads as:
“To provide seventy-five percent employment of local candidates by employer in the State of Haryana and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.”
As per Section 1(5) of the Act, the Act is to be applicable to all the Companies, Societies, Trusts, Limited Liability Partnership firms, Partnership Firm and any person employing ten or more persons and an entity, as may be notified by the Government.
The provision that created furore among industrialist particularly relates to Section 4 which obligates every employer to employ seventy-five percent of the local candidates with respect to such posts where the gross monthly salary or wages are not more than fifty thousand rupees or as notified by the Government.
Although, extending some liberty to the employers the Act provided that the but the employer may restrict the employment of local candidates from any district to ten percent of the total number of local candidates, meaning thereby, reservation limit could be restricted district wise to 10% at the discretion of the employers. Further, the Act is to remain in effect for a period of 10 years from the date of its commencement.
The Haryana government last year had notified that its act of implementing 75% reservation for local people in private jobs with a monthly salary ceiling of ₹50,000 will come into force from January 15, 2022.
Owing to its restrictive and anti-competitive nature demands had been raised by various industrial associations for revisiting the provisions of the Act contending that it will lead to multinational firms moving out of the state.[iii]
The industry bodies including Gurgaon Industrial Association had been assailing the Act for being in contravention to the Constitution, particularly Article 14 and 19 (1)(g), argued that the law is against the provisions of the Constitution and also against the basic principle of meritocracy which meant the Act is promoting anti-competitiveness in the State. The rationale behind assailing the Act was,
“It will affect the industry productivity and industrial competitiveness and post-Covid 19 recovery of industry, the pleas said, adding that the government by introducing this policy of “son of the soils” want to create reservation in the private sector, which is an infringement of constitutional rights of the employees and citizens of India because private sector jobs are based on the skills and analytical bent of mind of employees.”[iv]
On the contrary, the State had defended the Act stating that industrialisation and urbanisation in the State had resulted in huge land acquisition reducing the employment opportunities in the agriculture sector, therefore enactment was made observing the compelling situation of increasing unemployment in the State. The government said that the reservation being on the basis of domicile it in manner frustrated the Constitutional mandate, as what is prohibited under the Constitution is reservation on the basis of ‘place of birth’ not employment on the basis of ‘domicile’.
(To be updated with the Order)
[i] https://prsindia.org/files/bills_acts/acts_states/haryana/2021/Haryana%20Act%203%20of%202021.pdf
[iii] https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/high-court-stays-haryana-government-75-percent-reservation-for-locals-in-private-jobs-2022-02-03-757805
[iv] https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/high-court-stays-haryana-law-on-75-job-quota-in-private-sector-101643874484713.html
Kamini Sharma, Editorial Assistant has reported this story.
