Amid mounting public pressure and student protests over the shrinking share of open merit in Jammu and Kashmir’s job reservations, a senior cabinet minister said that the Union Territory government has very limited jurisdiction over the matter due to constitutional constraints and parliamentary enactments.
“Let me be honest, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir cannot do much in terms of fundamentally altering the reservation matrix. A majority of the reservation structure now applicable in the Union Territory flows directly from Parliamentary legislation, particularly post-2019,” the minister told Kashmir News Service (KNS) on condition of anonymity.
He said that there is a little leeway within the framework, and they are examining those limited areas. “Categories like RBA (Resident of Backward Areas), ALC (Actual Line of Control), and Pahari-speaking people are under the UT’s administrative domain. There may be some scope to restructure quotas in these segments.”
The minister said that the cabinet sub-committee, which recently submitted its report to the cabinet and then sent it to the Law Department for legal vetting, has carefully worked within this boundary. “You can’t touch the percentages that have been granted through Parliamentary enactments or amendments to the Constitution. These include SCs, STs, EWS, and OBCs, most of which are now central subjects.”
J&K’s reservation system has undergone major transformation since the abrogation of Article 370 in August .
The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, earlier governed the UT’s quota structure, providing reservation for SCs, STs, RBA, ALC, and other socially and educationally backward classes.
After the reorganization, the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2019, passed by Parliament, brought in 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in line with the 103rd Constitutional Amendment which substantially reduced the open merit share.
Scheduled Tribe reservations were enhanced after the inclusion of more communities like Paharis in 2023 through a constitutional amendment, also passed by Parliament. SC and ST categories are governed by Articles 341 and 342 of the Indian Constitution, and any modification in these is a central subject.
“The UT administration or even an elected government cannot reduce or alter quotas extended by the Parliament unless repealed or amended by another Parliamentary act,” the minister further said.
The protest wave began in early 2024 when student groups and civil services aspirants took to the streets, demanding restoration of a higher open merit share.
As protests grew, the government formed a Cabinet Sub-Committee to review the matter. The committee submitted its report last week, which was immediately sent to the Law Department for legal vetting.(KNS)
