Punjab and Haryana High Court quashes socio-economic criteria in recruitment process

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, May 31

More than a year after the Punjab and Haryana High Court asserted that confining the benefit of socio-economic criteria and awarding 20 marks on the basis of descent or Haryana domicile in recruitment process was violative of the Constitution, a Division Bench today quashed it.

Violative of Constitution

… we prima facie agree with the contentions of the petitioner that confining of the benefit of socio-economic criteria and awarding 20 marks on the basis of descent or domicile in the State of Haryana is violative of Article 16 (2) of the Constitution.

HC Division Bench

Taking up a bunch of petitions, Justices Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Sudeepti Sharma set aside bonus marks granted on the basis of socio-economic criteria after holding that it was violative of Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution.

The Bench further directed the preparation of a fresh merit list solely on the basis of the marks obtained in the common eligibility test (CET) for Group C and D posts. In one of the petitions, the court had earlier suspended a clause in assistant engineers’ recruitment advertisement dealing with “socio-economic criteria and experience” and providing 20 marks on the basis of descent or to Haryana domicile applicants.

“Having regard to the principles of law laid down by the Supreme Court in cases cited by the counsel for the petitioner, we prima facie agree with the contentions of the petitioner that confining of the benefit of socio-economic criteria and awarding 20 marks on the basis of descent or domicile in the State of Haryana is violative of Article 16(2) of the Constitution,” the Bench had asserted.

The petition was filed against Haryana and other respondents by Arpit Gahlawat through counsel Sarthak Gupta. Among other things, he was seeking the quashing of advertisement dated December 20, 2022, for filling up posts of assistant engineer (electrical cadre) in the electrical discipline.

Directions were also sought for quashing a regulation of DHBVNL Service of Engineers (Electrical) Regulations, 2020, and other similar amendments to the extent that 20 of 100 marks had been earmarked for the “socio-economic criteria and experience” by making it dependent on descent or Haryana domicile. BJP spokesperson Jawahar Yadav clarified that no employee would be expelled after the judgment. The Opposition was spreading lies, he added.