‘Backward classes panel to decide if 50% quota sealing can be breached’

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has said the Haryana Backward Classes Commission will decide whether the state can breach the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation by Supreme Court.

In the detailed judgment released on Thursday, the high court bench of justices SS Saron (now retired) and Lisa Gill said that for the purpose of exercise “the government shall place before the commission the quantifiable data among other things, besides the commission would be at liberty to seek any relevant data and information”.

The Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney case in 1992 had said if the state wanted to exceed 50% reservation, then it was required to base its decision on quantifiable data.

Last week, the high court had upheld the Haryana government’s legislation on providing reservation to Jats and five other communities but said that extent of reservation would be decided by commission.

The Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016 was notified on May 12, 2016 by the state government.

The law provided reservation to Jat and five other communities under BC (C) category. Five other communities include Jat Sikh, MullaJat/Muslim Jat, Bishnoi, Ror and Tyagi. It was on May 26, 2016, a division bench had stayed the implementation of quota on a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the constitutional validity law. The petition was filed by Murari Lal Gupta, a resident of Bhiwani district.

The HC bench while upholding the law took note of a SC judgment. Which said where there is challenge to the constitutional validity of a law enacted by the legislature, the court must keep in view that there is always a presumption of constitutionality of an enactment, and a clear transgression of constitutional principles must be shown. “The fundamental nature and importance of the legislative process needs to be recognized by the Court and due regard and deference must be accorded to the legislative process,” the judgment had recorded.

The court has now said that different stakeholders can submit data for or against the reservation before Commission by November 30.

The government shall make due and wide publication for the data and objects can be filed by December 30. The commission shall submit a report by March 31, 2018 on the basis of which government will take a decision. till that time reservation will remain in abeyance.