Haryana govt amends CET policy, removes bonus marks based on socioeconomic criteria

Chandigarh: The Haryana Cabinet on Saturday approved amendments in the Common Eligibility Test policy to remove the grant of five per cent bonus marks to certain candidates based on socioeconomic criteria for government jobs in Group C and D posts.

The government decision follows a May 31 order by the high court on the matter.

The approval was given in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday, an official statement said.

"As per the amendments, the 5 per cent weightage for social economic criteria provided for the bona fide residents of Haryana has been removed. The said amendments have been done as per the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court," said the statement. The amended policy will be called Policy for Recruitment to Group C and D posts through Common Eligibility Test, (Amendment) Rule, 2024, it said.

In May, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had struck down the state government's policy of granting five per cent bonus marks based on the socioeconomic status of the candidate from the state, in the CET for groups C and D posts.

Later, in June, the Supreme Court had upheld the Punjab and Haryana High Court order. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission against the Punjab and Haryana High Court's May 31 order.

The statement said, "The Policy for Recruitment to Group C and D posts through Common Eligibility Test, (Amendment) Rule, 2024 shall apply to direct recruitment to Group C posts including the posts of police service, prisons and home guards etc, excluding the teaching posts, ex-Agniveer and Group D posts for which minimum educational qualification is below matriculation..." "Furthermore, after the amendment, now the maximum number of eligible candidates to appear for the skill and/or written examination shall be ten times the total number of posts advertised by the Commission. Earlier, the candidates equal to four times the number of posts advertised were eligible to appear," the statement said.

On May 5, 2022, the state government introduced Common Eligibility Test (CET) for Group C and D posts.

In another decision, the cabinet approved the decision to bring an ordinance for further amending the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Act, 2024.

Under this amendment, the phrase "in a calendar year" will be replaced with "during a period of one year of contractual service." This amendment is being introduced to address request raised by contractual employees regarding the calculation of their service days, the statement said.

Employees had requested that the 240-day service requirement be calculated based on the actual number of days during a one-year period of contractual service, instead of a calendar year.

The current system posed challenges for employees who joined between May and December, as the service days for their first year of employment were not being fully counted.

"For instance, employees whose date of joining falls after May and before December would not meet the 240-day service requirement for their first calendar year of service, thus affecting their job security," it said.

"In addition, for the year 2024, employees raised concerns 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 requests, the Haryana Cabinet has approved the amendment to consider 240 days of service during a period of one year of contractual service, thereby addressing these issues and ensuring better job security for contractual employees, it said.

Under the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Act, 2024, the benefit of job security is admissible to those contractual employees who fulfil the five years contractual service before August 15, 2024, the statement added.