Supreme Court has issued notice on the order by Haryana government which challenges the Punjab and Haryana High Court decision to quash a law reserving 75 percent of private job positions for local candidates in Haryana.
A bench comprising of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice PS Narasimha orally assured that it would list the matter for final disposal soon.
An appeal challenging a November 2023 Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment was currently been heard by the bench.
By this judgment, the High Court had quashed the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 which provided for 75 percent reservation in private sector jobs to persons domiciled in Haryana.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ruled that powers of the State legislature should always be beneficial for the citizens.
The court stated that no state should allow private employer to discriminate by employing only a local candidate, as it could lead to more such similar State enactments that could put up “artificial walls” throughout the country.
Today, during the hearing, the state of Haryana was represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who stated that the judgment under challenge was not well reasoned.
Stating the urgency of matter, SGI also pressed for an early date for the final disposal of the matter.
The law in question was brought by the coalition government of Bharatiya Janata Party and Jannayak Janta Party.
The law was championed by Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala and passed in 2021.
The Act stated that 75 percent reservation for local youth in private sector jobs with a monthly salary of less than ₹30,000 from January 15, 2022.
Short-term work and a host of primary services were later exempted from the provisions of the law.
The Act takes care of companies, societies, trusts, partnership firms, limited liability partnership firms and any person employing ten or more persons or any entity notified by the government.