The Evening Wrap: HC sets aside Haryana law guaranteeing 75% reservation to locals

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 17 quashed the Haryana government’s law guaranteeing 75% reservation to locals in private sector jobs in Haryana. The court of Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan pronounced the order to quash the law – Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 – while hearing multiple petitions against the implementation of the law. “The High Court has quashed the Haryana state’s law guaranteeing 75% reservation to locals in private sector jobs in the State asserting it was unconstitutional. The detailed order is awaited,” Tushar Sharma, counsel for one of the petitioners – Manesar Industrial Welfare Association told The Hindu. There were multiple petitions before the court seeking the quashing of the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020. Industry associations from Gurugram, Faridabad, and Rewari districts of Haryana had sought judicial recourse and had submitted that the law goes against constitutional provisions and the basic principle of merit underpinning private sector growth. On January 15, 2022, the Haryana government notified the ‘Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020’. The law provided for 75% of the new employment to be given to local candidates for jobs having a salary of less than ₹30,000 per month in various privately managed companies, societies, trusts, limited liability partnership firms, partnership firms, etc. situated in Haryana. One of the petitions challenged the law on account of the fact that it provides reservation in private employment and creates an unprecedented intrusion by the State government into the fundamental rights of the employers to carry on their business and trade as provided for under Article 19 of the Constitution of India. It was also submitted in the petition that the law was an infringement of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. It added that a fundamental wedge is sought to be created between persons domiciled in different States by the statue in question which is contrary to the concept of common citizenship provided in the Constitution of India. BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, his wife stopped from flying abroad at Delhi’s IGI Airport over LOC notice BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain were stopped at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi after the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police issued a look out circular (LOC) against the couple. Speaking to The Hindu, Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW) Sindhu Pillai said that the LOC was issued to stop the duo from travelling abroad and asked them to join the probe from next week at the EOW office in Mandir Marg. “The duo was stopped at the security check and asked to return to their residence and join the probe from next week,” said Pillai. According to sources in the EOW, the LOC notice was issued in the light of the allegations against the duo of using backdated invoices to siphon off funds for the work they did not do for the fintech company and a number of payments made to vendors shown on record that could not be traced. Reacting to the developments, Grover took to social media platform X, claiming that he had not received any communication or summon from EOW since the FIR in May until 8 a.m. on Friday. He claimed that it was during the immigration process when the officers informed him that there was an LOC notice issued against their names and the status of their travel would be ascertained after the officers spoke to them. “I found it strange as have travelled 4 times internationally since FIR filed in May - never been a problem and I had not even been summoned once,” wrote Grover on X. Adding to the post, he wrote that the summon from EOW was delivered by mail later in the day. “Will cooperate as usual,” he added. India ‘strongly condemns’ civilian casualties in Israel-Hamas conflict: PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 17 “strongly condemned” the civilian casualties in the ongoing violence in Gaza Strip. Delivering the inaugural speech at the virtual Voice of Global South Summit, he reiterated his condemnation of the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and said the Global South should speak in one voice on critical matters. Modi further announced that India was set to host a global partnership summit on Artificial Intelligence next month which would promote responsible use of technology and reduce the gap between the developed and developing economies. “We are all seeing that developments in West Asia are giving birth to new challenges. India has condemned the dastardly terror attack on Israel on October 7. We urged for restrained response along with dialogue and diplomacy. We strongly condemn the death of civilians in Israel-Hamas conflict,” Modi said. His remarks indicated that other leaders in the virtual Voice of Global South Summit are also likely to take up the violence in Gaza at the daylong event during which Heads of Government, Foreign Ministers and other representatives are expected to place their thoughts on various matters of global importance. Modi mentioned India’s humanitarian approach to the crisis and said, “After speaking to President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, India sent relief material to the Palestinians,” he said. The Prime Minister also announced that DAKSHIN — Development and Knowledge Sharing Initiative — Global South Centre for Excellence will be inaugurated on Friday. He revisited the diplomatic outreach by India to the Global South that was witnessed during the G20 summit of last September. He specifically highlighted the inclusion of the African Union as a new member in the G20 grouping. He further urged that the gaps between the North and the South should be minimised to ensure access to new technology and initiatives. “New technology should not become a source of creating distance between the North and the South. In this age of AI, it is necessary to ensure responsible use of technology. To ensure that, next month India will host AI technology summit,” Modi announced. Congress accuses BJP govt. of relaxing norms of Dharavi redevelopment project to suit Adani group The Congress on November 17 accused the BJP of relaxing norms for the Dharavi redevelopment project in Mumbai to benefit the Adani group. In a statement, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Maharashtra Urban Development Department had been “compelled” to change rules. “It is now reported that the Maharashtra Urban Development Department — which had originally expressed its reservations about relaxing the rules — has been compelled to issue a notification that removes the provision of indexation in Dharavi’s real estate Transferable Development Rights [TDR] and made it mandatory for all Mumbai builders to buy the first 40% of their TDRs from Adani,” Ramesh said. “This has the effect of greatly increasing the value of TDRs accruing to Adani — and Adani alone — from the Dharavi project,” he added. The Congress leader said TDR was a transferable credit that allows builders who agree to give up their rights to build in sensitive areas — for reasons related to the environment, historical or cultural significance or similar reasons — to be compensated with extra construction rights in other approved areas. The decision to remove indexation means that TDRs generated in low-cost areas like Dharavi can be used to develop expensive real estate in premium locations such as Bandra, south Mumbai and Juhu, he said. “These policy changes are expected to further push up prices in Mumbai’s already expensive housing market. This one policy change that benefits only Adani is yet another ‘revdi’ [freebies] offered to the Prime Minister’s most favoured business group,” Ramesh claimed. “Is there no sector of the economy that is not being converted into a Modi-made Monopoly [3M] for his friends? What is the nature of this strong electoral bond between the BJP and Adani? Only a JPC can unravel the full truth,” the Congress leader added. Ramesh said the party had raised the issue on February 27 and April 23 this year as part of their “Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun [HAHK] series [How are we related to Adani]” that targeted the Narendra Modi government for its “proximity” to the Adani group. Elon Musk again accused of endorsing antisemitism on X X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk has come under fire for antisemitism again, as he agreed with an X user who claimed that Jewish communities were pushing “hatred against whites.” Tech outlet The Verge reported on Friday that Musk had also engaged with other posts supporting antisemitism and white pride. An outlet called Media Matters reported this week that tech companies such as Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity had their ads placed near antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X. IBM later confirmed that it has suspended advertising on X while it investigates the issue, reported The Verge. Musk responded by calling Media Matters “an evil organisation”. X CEO Linda Yaccarino posted a statement on Friday that did not name Musk, but noted that “discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board.” She also stressed that X had been combating antisemitism and discrimination, and that both had no place in the world. This is not the first time corporate ads on X were found to have been placed near pro-Nazi content, in spite of the social media platform’s assurances that such factors could be controlled. The Hindu previously found that advertisements by organisations such as UNICEF India and Gates Foundation India were being placed under X accounts spreading hatred and targeting protected groups such as the Jewish, Muslim, or queer communities. In Brief: Supreme Court judge, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, is set to retire on December 25 and is one of the five judges on the Constitution Bench which reserved judgment on the challenge to the dilution of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special privileges to Jammu and Kashmir. The Bench, which was headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, reserved the case for verdict on September 5. Justice Kaul was the senior most puisne judge on the five-judge Constitution Bench. The judgment has to come before Justice Kaul retires from the court in December. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 17 November 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( High Court sets aside Haryana law guaranteeing 75% reservation to locals in private sector The [Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 17 quashed the Haryana government’s law guaranteeing 75% reservation]( to locals in private sector jobs in Haryana. The court of Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan pronounced the order to quash the law – Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 – while hearing multiple petitions against the implementation of the law. “The High Court has quashed the Haryana state’s law guaranteeing 75% reservation to locals in private sector jobs in the State asserting it was unconstitutional. The detailed order is awaited,” Tushar Sharma, counsel for one of the petitioners – Manesar Industrial Welfare Association told The Hindu. There were multiple petitions before the court seeking the quashing of the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020. Industry associations from Gurugram, Faridabad, and Rewari districts of Haryana had sought judicial recourse and had submitted that the law goes against constitutional provisions and the basic principle of merit underpinning private sector growth. On January 15, 2022, the Haryana government notified the ‘Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020’. The law provided for 75% of the new employment to be given to local candidates for jobs having a salary of less than ₹30,000 per month in various privately managed companies, societies, trusts, limited liability partnership firms, partnership firms, etc. situated in Haryana. One of the petitions challenged the law on account of the fact that it provides reservation in private employment and creates an unprecedented intrusion by the State government into the fundamental rights of the employers to carry on their business and trade as provided for under Article 19 of the Constitution of India. It was also submitted in the petition that the law was an infringement of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. It added that a fundamental wedge is sought to be created between persons domiciled in different States by the statue in question which is contrary to the concept of common citizenship provided in the Constitution of India. BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, his wife stopped from flying abroad at Delhi’s IGI Airport over LOC notice [BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain were stopped at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport]( in New Delhi after the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police issued a look out circular (LOC) against the couple. Speaking to The Hindu, Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW) Sindhu Pillai said that the LOC was issued to stop the duo from travelling abroad and asked them to join the probe from next week at the EOW office in Mandir Marg. “The duo was stopped at the security check and asked to return to their residence and join the probe from next week,” said Pillai. According to sources in the EOW, the LOC notice was issued in the light of the allegations against the duo of using backdated invoices to siphon off funds for the work they did not do for the fintech company and a number of payments made to vendors shown on record that could not be traced. Reacting to the developments, Grover took to social media platform X, claiming that he had not received any communication or summon from EOW since the FIR in May until 8 a.m. on Friday. He claimed that it was during the immigration process when the officers informed him that there was an LOC notice issued against their names and the status of their travel would be ascertained after the officers spoke to them. “I found it strange as have travelled 4 times internationally since FIR filed in May - never been a problem and I had not even been summoned once,” wrote Grover on X. Adding to the post, he wrote that the summon from EOW was delivered by mail later in the day. “Will cooperate as usual,” he added. India ‘strongly condemns’ civilian casualties in Israel-Hamas conflict: PM Modi [Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 17 “strongly condemned” the civilian casualties in the ongoing violence in Gaza Strip](. Delivering the inaugural speech at the virtual Voice of Global South Summit, he reiterated his condemnation of the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and said the Global South should speak in one voice on critical matters. Modi further announced that India was set to host a global partnership summit on Artificial Intelligence next month which would promote responsible use of technology and reduce the gap between the developed and developing economies. “We are all seeing that developments in West Asia are giving birth to new challenges. India has condemned the dastardly terror attack on Israel on October 7. We urged for restrained response along with dialogue and diplomacy. We strongly condemn the death of civilians in Israel-Hamas conflict,” Modi said. His remarks indicated that other leaders in the virtual Voice of Global South Summit are also likely to take up the violence in Gaza at the daylong event during which Heads of Government, Foreign Ministers and other representatives are expected to place their thoughts on various matters of global importance. Modi mentioned India’s humanitarian approach to the crisis and said, “After speaking to President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, India sent relief material to the Palestinians,” he said. The Prime Minister also announced that DAKSHIN — Development and Knowledge Sharing Initiative — Global South Centre for Excellence will be inaugurated on Friday. He revisited the diplomatic outreach by India to the Global South that was witnessed during the G20 summit of last September. He specifically highlighted the inclusion of the African Union as a new member in the G20 grouping. He further urged that the gaps between the North and the South should be minimised to ensure access to new technology and initiatives. “New technology should not become a source of creating distance between the North and the South. In this age of AI, it is necessary to ensure responsible use of technology. To ensure that, next month India will host AI technology summit,” Modi announced. Congress accuses BJP govt. of relaxing norms of Dharavi redevelopment project to suit Adani group The [Congress on November 17 accused the BJP of relaxing norms for the Dharavi redevelopment project]( in Mumbai to benefit the Adani group. In a statement, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Maharashtra Urban Development Department had been “compelled” to change rules. “It is now reported that the Maharashtra Urban Development Department — which had originally expressed its reservations about relaxing the rules — has been compelled to issue a notification that removes the provision of indexation in Dharavi’s real estate Transferable Development Rights [TDR] and made it mandatory for all Mumbai builders to buy the first 40% of their TDRs from Adani,” Ramesh said. “This has the effect of greatly increasing the value of TDRs accruing to Adani — and Adani alone — from the Dharavi project,” he added. The Congress leader said TDR was a transferable credit that allows builders who agree to give up their rights to build in sensitive areas — for reasons related to the environment, historical or cultural significance or similar reasons — to be compensated with extra construction rights in other approved areas. The decision to remove indexation means that TDRs generated in low-cost areas like Dharavi can be used to develop expensive real estate in premium locations such as Bandra, south Mumbai and Juhu, he said. “These policy changes are expected to further push up prices in Mumbai’s already expensive housing market. This one policy change that benefits only Adani is yet another ‘revdi’ [freebies] offered to the Prime Minister’s most favoured business group,” Ramesh claimed. “Is there no sector of the economy that is not being converted into a Modi-made Monopoly [3M] for his friends? What is the nature of this strong electoral bond between the BJP and Adani? Only a JPC can unravel the full truth,” the Congress leader added. Ramesh said the party had raised the issue on February 27 and April 23 this year as part of their “Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun [HAHK] series [How are we related to Adani]” that targeted the Narendra Modi government for its “proximity” to the Adani group. Elon Musk again accused of endorsing antisemitism on X [X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk has come under fire for antisemitism again]( as he agreed with an X user who claimed that Jewish communities were pushing “hatred against whites.” Tech outlet The Verge reported on Friday that Musk had also engaged with other posts supporting antisemitism and white pride. An outlet called Media Matters reported this week that tech companies such as Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity had their ads placed near antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X. IBM later confirmed that it has suspended advertising on X while it investigates the issue, reported The Verge. Musk responded by calling Media Matters “an evil organisation”. X CEO Linda Yaccarino posted a statement on Friday that did not name Musk, but noted that “discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board.” She also stressed that X had been combating antisemitism and discrimination, and that both had no place in the world. This is not the first time corporate ads on X were found to have been placed near pro-Nazi content, in spite of the social media platform’s assurances that such factors could be controlled. The Hindu previously found that advertisements by organisations such as UNICEF India and Gates Foundation India were being placed under X accounts spreading hatred and targeting protected groups such as the Jewish, Muslim, or queer communities. In Brief: [Supreme Court judge, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, is set to retire on December 25]( is one of the five judges on the Constitution Bench which reserved judgment on the challenge to the dilution of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special privileges to Jammu and Kashmir. The Bench, which was headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, reserved the case for verdict on September 5. Justice Kaul was the senior most puisne judge on the five-judge Constitution Bench. The judgment has to come before Justice Kaul retires from the court in December. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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