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Human rights panel won't push for caste quota in private sector

What is India News Service, Monday, 25 October 2004, 2000 hrs IST


A study commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed doubts over the “constitutional sustainability” of the proposal for job reservation in private sector for those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The report on Prevention of Atrocities Against SCs/STs commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission, released last week, states that the private sector too is unlikely to accept it for a number of reasons.

“The Constitutional sustainability of such a proposal is in doubt. That is why even in the peak period of commitment to reservation as a strategy of empowerment of SCs and STs, the government did not consider introducing reservation of jobs in the private sector,” says the study.

According to the report, with the intervention of the Supreme Court in restricting the scope and ambit of reservation from time to time, it “seems highly improbable” that the idea of reservation of jobs in the private sector would muster legal sanction.

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Overall:

Human rights panel report on quota came out: It will not pressure the government on enforcing caste-based job reservations in the private sector.

Omar survived kill bid: The Kashmiri leader escaped unhurt after a bomb went off.

Tripura was tense: Insurgency-related violence continued in the north-eastern state.