CHANDIGARH: The quota bill was challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High court in Chandigarh, a day after it was passed in the Haryana Assembly. 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.
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. The Bill that was passed after major Jat protests, provided reservation to the Jats along with five other communities in government jobs and education was unanimously passed by the Haryana Assembly. Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois, Tyagis, and Mulla Jat, are given a new classification, Block 'C', in the Backward Classes category. The Bill proposes to give 10 per cent reservation to 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.
