No special reservation for Gujjars in jobs: Rajasthan HC

No special reservation for Gujjars in jobs: Rajasthan HC

In a setback to agitating Gujjars, the Rajasthan High Court has held that members of the community could not be given special reservation in government jobs.

A division bench of Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Mahesh Bhagwati on Wednesday held that Gujjars cannot be given special reservation and an act of 2008 has no substratum of quantifiable data that could justify the reservation.

The move to provide reservation by government could not, therefore, be acted upon, the judges said.

The court also directed the state government to carry out an exercise within a year to establish the backwardness of Gujjars, Raikas, Raibari and Gadiya Lohar communities in the fields of education and government employment.

Gujjars have been agitating for the last two days in support of their demands, including quota in jobs.

The Ashok Gehlot government has said it was ready for talks to end the impasse. The High Court had earlier stayed the quota as it was exceeding the 50 percent limit.

Threatening to intensify their stir, Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla on Tuesday said, "We are not ready to give up till our demands are met."

Rail and road traffic was disrupted in Rajasthan's Bharatpur district due to the Gujjar stir.

Reacting to the High Court's order, Bainsla asked community members across Rajasthan to intensify their agitation in support of their demand.

Meanwhile, rail and road traffic remained affected as the agitators continued to squat on rail tracks near Pilukapur in Bharatpur district where security forces had been deployed in strength.

Gujjars have been agitating for the last two days in support of their demands, including quota in jobs.

The Ashok Gehlot government has said it was ready for talks to end the impasse.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened at a key rail bridge in Dholpur district from where around two dozen diverted trains from Mathura will pass, authorities said.

"Security of the Chambal rail bridge has been tightened in the wake of ongoing Gujjar agitation. Armed policemen are protecting the bridge, while regular patrolling is being conducted in the area to keep the tracks safe," RPF Dholpur in-charge Jogendra Singh said.