Chandigarh, The Haryana government will challenge the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision to nullify its policy of awarding additional marks under the socioeconomic criteria for state government job aspirants. The High Court deemed the policy unconstitutional on Friday, citing violations of Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Indian Constitution.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced on Saturday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana will appeal the decision in the Supreme Court. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Saini expressed the state’s commitment to legally and constitutionally fighting for the policy that aimed to uplift candidates from economically weaker sections. “An ambitious scheme of giving five additional marks to candidates from the poor, weak, and deprived sections of society was made by the Haryana government. The high court has given a decision against it. The state government will continue this fight legally and constitutionally and file an appeal in the apex court,” he said.
The High Court’s decision came after multiple petitions challenged the socioeconomic criteria. According to Sarthak Gupta, counsel for one of the petitioners, the court found the practice of awarding extra marks unconstitutional. “The socioeconomic criteria have been held as unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14, 15, 16 of the Constitution,” Gupta stated.
Following the verdict, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala criticized the BJP government, accusing it of jeopardizing the futures of Haryana’s youth. “With the rejection of the policy of providing additional marks under the socioeconomic criteria in Group ‘C’, ‘D’, and other jobs, the future of more than 20 lakh youngsters of Haryana hangs in the balance,” Surjewala posted on X.
The Haryana government’s socioeconomic criteria were introduced a few years ago to provide additional marks to candidates who did not have a government employee in their family, were state-domiciled, and had an annual family income not exceeding ₹1.8 lakh. The policy aimed to create a level playing field for economically disadvantaged candidates in state government job recruitment.
