Haryana waives 5% socioeconomic bonus marks for Group C and D jobs in CET after court order

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Cabinet on Saturday approved changes in the Common Eligibility Test policy to do away with giving five percent bonus marks to certain candidates based on socioeconomic criteria for Group C and D government posts. The government’s decision comes in the wake of an order dated 31 May of the High Court in this regard.
The approval was given on Saturday in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, an official statement said.
“As per the amendments, the 5% weightage for social economic criteria provided for bona fide residents of Haryana has been removed. The said amendments have been made as per the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” the statement said. The amended policy will be called Recruitment Policy for Group C and D Posts through Common Eligibility Test (Amendment) Rule 2024, the release said.
In May, the Punjab and Haryana High Court struck down the state government’s policy of awarding five per cent bonus marks based on the candidate’s socioeconomic status in the state in the CET for Group C and Group D posts.
Later in June, the Supreme Court upheld the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission against the May 31 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The statement said, “The recruitment policy for Group C and D posts through the Common Eligibility Test, Rule (Amendment) 2024, will apply to direct recruitment to Group C posts, including the posts of police, jails and guards, etc., excluding teaching posts, ex-Agniveer posts and group D for which the minimum educational qualification is below Matriculation…”
“Furthermore, after the amendment, now the maximum number of eligible candidates appearing for the qualifying and/or written examination will be ten times the total number of posts advertised by the Commission. Previously, candidates equal to four times the number of posts. promoted were eligible to appear”, the press release states.
On May 5, 2022, the state government introduced the Common Eligibility Test (CET) for Group C and D posts.
In another decision, the cabinet approved the decision to introduce an ordinance to further amend the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Services) Act, 2024.
According to this amendment, the phrase “within a calendar year” will be replaced by “during a period of one year of contractual service”. This amendment is introduced to respond to the request made by contractual employees regarding the calculation of their days of service, the release states.
The employees requested that the 240-day service requirement be calculated based on the actual number of days in a one-year contract service period, instead of a calendar year.
The current system posed challenges for employees who joined between May and December, as the days of service for their first year of employment were not fully accounted for.
“For example, employees whose joining date falls after May and before December would not meet the 240-day service requirement for their first calendar year of service, thereby affecting their job security,” it said.
“Furthermore, for the year 2024, employees have expressed concern as the number of days until the cut-off date of August 15, 2024 is only 227, which falls short of the required 240 days,” it added.
In response to these demands, the Haryana Cabinet approved the amendment to consider 240 days of service for a period of one year of contractual service, thereby addressing these issues and ensuring better job security for contractual employees, it say.
Under the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Act, 2024, the benefit of job security is admissible to those contractual employees who complete five years of contractual service before August 15, 2024, the statement added.