Chandigarh, August 21
The Punjab Government on Sunday announced reservation for the Scheduled Castes in the posts of law officer recruited by the state. CM Bhagwant Mann said 58 new posts of law officer being created in the Advocate-General’s office would be reserved for the Scheduled Castes.
Punjab govt earlier moved HC against it
Move follows directions by National Commission for Scheduled Castes
The AAP govt in Punjab had initially moved High Court against the directions
It later withdrew its petition under public pressure
“The recruitment will be done in a transparent manner. Our government is committed to providing equal opportunities to the last person in the queue,” he said.
While the government is patting its back, the decision is a result of directions issued to it by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. In fact, the state had initially moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the directions to reserve posts for SC candidates. The petition was withdrawn under public pressure.
On May 27, the government had written to the commission, saying reservation was not applicable while engaging law officers. Giving his opinion the then Advocate-General, Anmol Rattan Singh Sidhu, had said that “the paramount consideration should be given to the efficiency of the law officers who need to perform before the top court of the state as well as before the apex court of the country; there is no legal necessity for the reservation in the appointment of law officers by the state”. Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal, chairman, SC cell of Punjab Congress, said the AAP government had to succumb to pressure, although backward classes still remained deprived of their rights. “They should get 12 per cent reservation,” he said.
Three Punjab Ministers—Harpal Cheema, Lal Chand Kataruchak and Harbhajan Singh—and some MLAs from the SC community hailed the decision. The government has been implementing the reservation policy in true spirit to ensure that candidates from the underprivileged sections get equal opportunities, they claimed.
