Reservation to Jats, 5 other castes challenged in HC

CHANDIGARH: The reservation to Jats and five other communities in government jobs and education was challenged today in the Punjab and Haryana High court here, a day after Haryana Assembly cleared the quota Bill.

Advocate Satnarayan Yadav challenged the grant of reservation on the grounds that the Supreme Court has ruled against the overall quota exceeding the 50 per cent threshold in any state.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing on Monday, he said.

Referring to a 1992 order wherein the apex court had opposed more than 50 per cent overall reservation, Yadav claimed Haryana government had succumbed to the pressure from Jats by bringing the reservation Bill.

Two or three states have sought to provide over 50 per cent reservation but these decisions have been challenged in the courts, he said.

Yesterday, a Bill to provide reservation to Jats and five other communities in government jobs and education was unanimously passed by Haryana Assembly.

Jats set an April 3 deadline for the granting of reservation after their violent quota agitation last month had brought the BJP-ruled state to a standstill. The stir left 30 people dead and 320 persons injured besides resulting in huge damage to property.

The Bill extends reservation to Jats and five other castes -- Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois, Tyagis and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jat -- by constituting a new classification, Block 'C', in the Backward Classes category.

The Bill proposes to give 10 per cent reservation these communities in government and government-aided educational institutions and Class-III and IV government jobs. It also envisages 6 per cent reservation for them in BC 'C' category in Class-I and II jobs.

The Jats had threatened to relaunch their agitation on March 18 but put it off till April 3 after the BJP government promised to bring the Bill in the ongoing Budget session.