Supreme Court: Unconstitutional 100% reservation in scheduled areas, Jharkhand government's notification canceled

In a significant decision, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that a state government cannot fix 100 percent reservation for local candidates in scheduled areas. This is completely unconstitutional and a violation of the fundamental right to non-discrimination in public employment. The apex court made this observation in a matter related to the recruitment of Trained Graduate Teachers (TGT) for secondary schools.

A bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna said, "The opportunity of public employment cannot be denied to certain persons unjustly. It is not the prerogative of some people. Doing so can affect the quality of education. Citizens have equal rights and creating opportunities for one class to completely exclude others was not considered by the framers of the Constitution. With this observation, the top court quashed a notification issued in 2016 by the state of Jharkhand providing 100 percent reservation for residents in class III and IV posts in 13 scheduled districts of the state. The bench said the 100 percent reservation provided only to the residents of the respective scheduled districts and areas is violative of Article 16(2) of the Constitution of India. It is going to affect the rights of other candidates and citizens of non-scheduled areas and districts.

The Court also noted that as per Article 16(3) and Article 35, local domicile reservation can be provided only through a law enacted by the Parliament. The State Legislature does not have the power to do so. Therefore the notification is violative of Articles 16(3) and 35.

Followed this law in the decision

The bench followed the law laid down in 2020 by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in the case Chebrolu Leela Prasad Rao et al. vs State of Andhra Pradesh. In this, 100% reservation for members of Scheduled Tribes in teaching posts in Scheduled Areas was declared unconstitutional. The apex court pronounced this judgment on appeals filed by the state of Jharkhand and some individuals against the decision of the High Court. The High Court quashed the notification.

This will affect the quality of education

The Supreme Court said, in matters of primary education, teaching in the local (tribal) language by the local people may be beneficial, but this principle does not apply to education above the fifth standard. In such a situation, if opportunities are not provided to the people outside the scheduled areas, then the quality of education will be affected.

State government claim

The state government claimed that the decision was taken to address the factors of low human development indices, backwardness, poverty, etc. in the scheduled districts. The notification was issued by the Governor to protect the interests of the residents of the Scheduled Districts to secure social, economic, and political justice. However, the top court disagreed with the High Court's direction to conduct fresh recruitment. Instead, the top court, in the exercise of its extraordinary power under Article 142, directed the state to revise the merit list of the candidates.

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