Reservation issue: Punjab failure irks HC

Chandigarh, Apr 6 (UNI) Unhappy at the Punjab government's failure to take a policy decision as directed previously to end reservation within reservation, in line with the Supreme Court verdict, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered the state's Secretary, Social Welfare to be personally present in the court on May 24 to explain why the state had not done the needful so far.

This was ordered by the court's division bench comprising Chief Justice D K Jain and Justice Surya Kant during the resumed hearing on the petition of Attar Singh and others seeking directions to quash the Punjab government notification of 1975 with which it had reserved fifty per cent of the reserved category posts in recruitment by the state for just two categories, namely Balmiki and Mazhbi of the Scheduled Castes while providing remaining fifty per cent of such posts for 35 categories of SCs from among the notified list of 37 categories.

During the last hearing, it had been submitted by the Punjab's additional advocate general Sanjeev Sharma that the matter was under consideration of the government and the policy decision would be taken shortly. In view of this, the bench had given four weeks to the state government to finalise the policy decision.

As the state failed to decide the matter to end reservation within reservation, the bench pointed out it was contempt of court, but in the interest of justice, another four weeks time was allowed with the direction to the social welfare department secretary to appear in person.

UNI XC PS TM RAI2237