High court seeks govt reply on plea challenging horizontal reservation to women of U'khand

The petition challenges Section 31 of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission Horizontal Reservation for Women Act, 2022, saying 30 per cent reservation for women of the state is beyond the scope of Article 16 of the Constitution of India.The high court has fixed May 7 as the next date of hearing in the case.

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday sought a reply from the state government on a petition challenging 30 per cent horizontal reservation to domiciled women of the state in government jobs. A division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal was hearing a petition filed by Satya Dev Tyagi. The petition challenges Section 3(1) of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (Horizontal Reservation for Women) Act, 2022, saying 30 per cent reservation for women of the state is beyond the scope of Article 16 of the Constitution of India.

The high court has fixed May 7 as the next date of hearing in the case. As per the case, Uttarakhand Public Service Commission had released an advertisement for various posts of PCS (provincial civil services) on March 14, 2024, including 189 posts of Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police, District Commandant Home Guard, etc. Clause 10(d) of the advertisement provides for 30 per cent horizontal reservation for female candidates who are native of Uttarakhand.

Challenging the reservation, advocate for the petitioner Kartikeya Hari Gupta said horizontal reservation based only on domicile should not be made.

It was said in the petition that the said Act, enacted by the Uttarakhand State Legislature, is a violation of section 3(1) of the Constitution of India and hence it is unconstitutional.

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