Jharkhand assembly passes bill to raise reservations to 77%
Ranchi (PTI): A bill was passed in the Jharkhand assembly on Friday to raise the total reservation offered to different categories to 77 per cent.
In a special session, the assembly passed an amendment to the Jharkhand Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services Act, 2001, raising the reservations for STs, SCs, EBCs, OBCs and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in government jobs from the present 60 per cent.
The bill proposes that the state will urge the Centre for changes in the Ninth Schedule of Constitution.
In the proposed reservation, local people of the SC community will get a quota of 12 per cent, STs will get 28 per cent, Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) 15 per cent, OBCs 12 per cent, and EWS barring those from the other reserved categories 10 per cent.
At present, the STs get a 26 per cent reservation in Jharkhand, while SCs get 10 per cent quota.
The OBCs currently get a 14 per cent quota in the state, and increasing it was an electoral promise of all mainstream parties in 2019, including the ruling alliance of JMM, Congress and RJD.
The bill was passed amid protests by MLAs of the ruling BJP.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren termed the legislation a "suraksha kavach" (safety shield) for the state's people who foiled conspiracies by the opposition.
Proposals for some amendments, and a proposal to send the bill for vetting by an assembly committee were rejected.
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Supreme Court declares child marriages violate basic rights, urges Parliament to act
New Delhi, October 18, 2024: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that child betrothals—a tactic often used to evade the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA)—violate fundamental rights, including freedom of choice, autonomy, and the right to childhood.
A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasized that the anti-child marriage law was unclear on child betrothals. The Court urged Parliament to outlaw the practice and categorize children whose marriages are arranged as “minors in need of care and protection” under the Juvenile Justice Act.
The judgment noted that despite international frameworks like the 1977 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), India has not fully addressed the issue of child betrothals. Under the PCMA, girls under 18 and boys below 21 are considered children, and child marriage is both a crime and a social evil.
Chief Justice Chandrachud pointed out that confusion persists regarding the intersection of personal laws and the PCMA. The Court acknowledged that the government had submitted a “note” suggesting that the PCMA should take precedence over personal laws, citing conflicting High Court judgments. However, the note was not backed by formal documentation, and the matter remains unresolved, with an Amendment Bill introduced in December 2021 still pending in Parliament.
The Court also broke new ground by addressing the impact of child marriage on boys. The judgment highlighted how patriarchal expectations, misinformation, and peer pressure push boys into committing violence against their child brides. “While girls are disproportionately affected, the right to childhood belongs to all genders,” Chief Justice Chandrachud observed.
“The intent of POCSO is to protect children from sexual harm, while child marriage institutionalizes sexual abuse by subjecting minor girls to exploitation,” the CJI stated. He further noted that child marriage reduces children to objects, imposing burdens such as compulsory heterosexuality and reproductive expectations, which deny them the freedom to explore their sexuality and personal choices.
The Court issued several guidelines, including:
• Introducing culturally appropriate sexuality education in schools.
• Launching a ‘Child Marriage Free Village’ campaign, similar to the ‘Open Defecation Free Village’ initiative, with the involvement of community leaders.
• Establishing an online portal under the Home Ministry for reporting child marriages.
• Creating a compensation scheme under the Ministry of Women and Child Development for girls who opt out of child marriages.
• Allocating an annual budget to prevent child marriages and support those affected by the practice.
The verdict was delivered in response to petitions by NGOs, including the Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action, which raised concerns about the persistence of child marriages despite nearly two decades of the PCMA. The Court warned that child marriage poses a direct threat to laws like the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
