Haryana to appeal in SC after HC quashes policy of additional marks under socioeconomic criteria

Chandigarh: The Haryana government will file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the high court quashing its policy of granting additional marks under the socioeconomic criteria to government job aspirants.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday held as unconstitutional the socioeconomic criteria prescribed by the Haryana government to grant additional marks to certain classes of candidates in state government jobs.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state will file an appeal in the apex court against the high court's decision.

In a post in Hindi on X, Saini said, "An ambitious scheme of giving five additional marks to candidates from the poor, weak and deprived sections of the society to bring them forward 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 added.

"The socioeconomic criteria has been held as unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14, 15, 16 of the Constitution. This was pronounced in the court by a division bench," Sarthak Gupta, the counsel for one of the petitioners, said on Friday.

The practice of giving extra or bonus marks has been declared as unconstitutional, he said.

The high court order came on a bunch of petitions that had challenged the socioeconomic criteria.

After the high court verdict, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala hit out at the BJP government in Haryana, alleging that it has 'murdered the future of youngsters'.

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, the Congress leader posted on X.

The state government introduced the socioeconomic criteria a few years ago, aiming to provide additional marks to certain classes of candidates, including those who do not have a government employee in the family, are state-domiciled and with their families' annual income not exceeding Rs 1.8 lakh.