Punjab and Haryana HC strikes down Haryana's 75% job reservation law as "unconstitutional"

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declared the controversial Haryana law mandating 75% reservation for state residents in private-sector jobs as unconstitutional. The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, passed in 2020, reserved 75% of private-sector jobs with a monthly salary below ₹30,000 for individuals with a resident or domicile certificate, reducing the domicile requirement from 15 to five years.

The decision is considered a setback for the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government, which introduced the law to consolidate votes, particularly from the Jat community, ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in less than a year. The state is expected to appeal the judgment. The Act, seen as the brainchild of the Jannayak Janata Party, an ally of the BJP in the state, was a key promise made by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala before the 2019 Assembly elections.

The Gurugram Industrial Association and other employer bodies filed a petition against the law, arguing that the sons-of-the-soil concept violated employers' constitutional rights. They contended that the Act contradicted constitutional principles of justice, equality, liberty, and fraternity. Concerns were also raised about its impact on Gurugram's industrial development, a significant IT hub in India. The High Court bench of Justices GS Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan declared the Act unconstitutional and struck it down.