Reservation Under Backward Class Category Can Be Claimed Only in State of Origin : Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that reservation benefits under the Backward Classes (BC) category can only be claimed in a person’s state of origin, not in their state of birth or current residence.

The Court clarified that state-specific BC certificates are linked to domicile and parental origin, and cannot be ported between states to protect local affirmative action policies.

It observed that reservation benefits are rooted in a community’s ethnicity, shared culture, and history, and that notifying a community as ‘backward’ depends on its historical presence in a particular geographical area.

[Vinay Sahotra v. The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited and others]