J&K&L HC Issues Notice On Plea Challenging Grant Of Reservation U/S 3 Of J&K Reservation Act

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has admitted a fresh writ petition directly challenging the constitutional validity of Section 3 of the J&K Reservation Act, 2004, which provides reservation on the basis of population ratio for being contrary to Article 16 (4) of the Constitution. The petitioner has also challenged successive statutory orders which have inflated reservation percentages to the extent that it has reached 70% cap, leaving only 30% for merit pool despite being majority in demographics. A bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar, Justice Sanjay Parihar issued notice to the respondents, seeking their response on the newly instituted plea that questions the legality of 70% reservation provided under the present regime. This comes after the High Court, while hearing a batch of earlier petitions, held that the percentage of reservation granted to a particular community cannot exceed its share in the total population of the Union Territory as per section 3 of J&K Reservation Act. In that order, the bench had observed that Section 3 of the 2004 Act was not under challenge in any of the petitions being argued, and thus permitted the withdrawal of the said batch with liberty to file a fresh petition specifically challenging Section 3. The newly filed petition challenges Section 3, contending that the provision violates Article 16(4) of the Constitution by reducing the basis of reservation merely to population percentage rather than focusing on inadequate representation in public employment, as required under the constitutional mandate. The court's issuance of notice is the first such foray into the foundational basis of reservation policy, particularly in light of recent statutory amendments through SO 127 (20.04.2020), SO 176 (15.03.2024), and SO 305 (21.05.2024), which have cumulatively raised the extent of reservations to nearly 70%. APPEARANCE: Mr M. Y. Bhat, Senior Advocate with Mr I. N. Parray, Advocate; and Petitioner No.1 in person. for Petitioners Shah Aamir, Advocate for R-4. Case-Title: Zahoor ahmad bhat & Ors vs UT of J&K, 2025 Click Here To Read/Download Order

J&K&L HC Issues Notice On Plea Challenging Grant Of Reservation U/S 3 Of J&K Reservation Act

Aleem Syeed

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