Puts Appointments Under Reservation Rules on Hold, Pending Outcome
Srinagar: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Wednesday ruled out that any appointment made under Reservation Rules shall be the outcome of the plea challenging the newly amended J&K Reservation Rules 2005.
However, the Court did not issue any notice to the government but sought assistance of Advocate General in the matter and listed the case for next hearing after two weeks.
The Division bench of the High court led by Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi passed the directives after hearing a plea filed by five aspirants seeking to declare the J&K Reservation Rules null and void.
The petitioners have challenged the newly amended J&K Reservation Rules 2005 that gives 70% reservation to Schedule Tribe (ST), Schedule Caste (SC), and other categories and only 30% reservation to Open Merit candidates in the recruitment, promotions, and admissions processes.
The petitioners contend that due to the amendments in the Reservation Rules of 2005 by authorities, there is a decrease in the percentage in Jammu and Kashmir government recruitment posts and seats in educational institutions for open merit from 57 percent to 33 percent.
It also stated that Residents of Backward Area (RBA) have decreased from 20 percent to 10 percent while there is an increase in reservation in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) from 10 percent to 20 percent, Social Caste from 2 percent to 8 percent, and ALC from 3 percent to 4 percent, PHC from 3 percent to 4 percent.
They further contended that the amendment in the rules has added new categories like Children of Defence Personnel and kept 3 percent reservation for them, Children of Police Personnel by keeping 1 percent and 2 percent for candidates possessing performance in sports, which is ultra vires to the constitution.
The petitioners have sought the court’s intervention to declare Rule 4, Rule 5, Rule 13, Rule 15, Rule 18, Rule 21 and Rule 23 of the J&K Reservation Rules, 2005 as amended through various SOs as ultra vires the constitution.
It also sought direction to the authorities to issue fresh recruitment notifications in tune with the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules of 2005 (un-amended).
The petitioners requested the court to issue a notice for the formation of an expert commission headed by a retired High Court judge and members of each community and category to recommend the reservation based on population percentage in the Union Territory (UT) of J&K.
They further sought intervention to direct the authorities to apply rationality in the reservation to maintain a 50 percent ceiling for open merit and general category..
“The reservation is granted under Articles 14, 15, 16 and 21 of the constitution but it has to be given to justify the reasonable differentia and not at the cost of the general category candidates,” the plea stated.
The plea also sought directions to rationalise the new reservation as per the Supreme Court guidelines, which have capped the reservation at 50 per cent
It underscores that reservation should not be meant to discriminate against the open merit category whose population is more than 70 percent in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Even the creamy layer candidates from the reserved category also fall in the open merit category and the candidates of reserved categories who get more merit also occupy seats and posts of the open merit category only,” it says.
The plea stated that the J&K Reservation Act, 2OO4, which is the parent Act providing the Government with the power to frame rules for providing reservation, provides in express terms in Section 3 therein, that the total percentage of the reservation shall in no case exceed 50 percent.
“The rules impugned are framed in exercise of powers conferred by Section 23 of the act,” it added.
