Supreme Court Issues Notice On Haryana Govt's Plea Against High Court Order Striking Down 75% Domicile Quota As Unconstitutional

A bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar today sought responses from industry associations in Haryana, in response to the state government's special leave petition raising apprehensions about the implications of the high court's decision. During the hearing, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta argued that the judgment lacked reasoning. 

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in its November 17 judgment, struck down the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020, which provided a 75 percent reservation for domiciles of Haryana in private sector jobs with a monthly salary below Rs 30,000. A division bench comprising Justices GS Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan unequivocally deemed the law unconstitutional, citing fundamental rights violations. The court's decision rested on several crucial grounds, including the discriminatory nature of the reservation, violation of the right to equality under Article 14, infringement of freedom guaranteed by Article 19, and the imposition of unreasonable restrictions.

The act, introduced in the state assembly in 2020, aimed to address concerns about the influx of migrants competing for low-paid jobs, impacting local infrastructure, housing, and leading to environmental and health issues. However, the high court found fault with the legislation, asserting that it created a discriminatory policy, treating non-residents as secondary citizens and violating the concept of constitutional morality. While declaring the law as unconstitutional, the division bench said, "...Freedom given under Article 19 of the Constitution of India could not be taken away and the impugned provisions are falling foul and are liable to be declared unconstitutional as a wall could not be built around by the State and the spirit and sole of the oneness of the Constitution of India could not be curtailed by the parochial limited vision of the State."