Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004

No: 14 Dated: Mar, 23 2004

THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR RESERVATION ACT, 2004

Act No. XIV of 2004

    An Act to provide for reservation in appointment, and admission in Professional Institutions, for the members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other socially and educationally backward classes and for matters connected there with or incidental thereto.

Be it enacted by the State Legislature of Jammu and Kashmir in the Fifty-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows: -

CHAPTER I

Preliminary

1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

(3) It shall come into force from the date of its publication in the Government Gazette.

2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -

(a) "Act" means the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004;

(b) "Appellate Authority" means the authorities prescribed under section 17;

(c) "areas adjoining the actual line of control" means the area declared as such by the Government from time to time;

(d) "available vacancies" means the vacancies, permanent or temporary, in any service and includes other posts under the Government, statutory authorities, autonomous bodies and Public Sector Undertakings owned and managed by the Government;

(e) "backlog vacancies" means those reserved vacancies which remain unfilled for want of suitable candidates after two attempts in the recruitment year to fill up those vacancies;

(f) "backward area" means the villages and areas declared as socially and educationally backward by the Government from time to time;

(g) "Competent Authority" means the authority competent to issue a certificate under the Act;

(h) "Government" means the Government of Jammu and Kashmir;

(i) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules framed under the Act;

(j) "Professional Institutions" means the institutions notified from time to time, by the Government and shall initially include Government Medical College, Srinagar/Jammu, Government Dental College, Srinagar, Government Polytechnics, both male and female, Government College of Education and Government College of Engineering and Technology, Jammu;

(k) "recruitment year" means the year in which the selection agencies make recommendations for appointment of candidates for a particular service or post to the appointing authorities;

(l) " reserved categories" means the categories for which reservation is to be made under the Act;

(m) "Scheduled Caste" means the castes specified in the Schedule to the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order, 1956 made by the President under clause (1) of Article 341 of the Constitution of India;

(n) "Scheduled Tribe" means the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities as specified in the Constitution Scheduled Tribes Order, 1989 made by the President under clause (1) of Article 342 of the Constitution of India;

(o) "socially and educationally backward classes" mean -

(i) persons residing in the backward area;

(ii) the persons residing in the area adjoining Actual Line of Control and International Border; and

(iii) weak and under-privileged classes (social castes), declared as such under notification SRO-394 dated 5-9-1981 read with notification SRO-272 dated 3-7-1982 and notification SRO-271 dated 22-8-1988 as amended from time to time;

(iv) the persons belonging to pahari community, clan or tribe having distinct cultural, ethnic and linguistic identity to be identified in such manner as may be prescribed and by such Authority as may be appointed by the Government in this behalf; and

Provided that the Government may, on the recommendations of the State Backward Classes Commission, make inclusions in, and exclusion from, the said category from time to time :

Provided further that the persons specified below and their children shall be excluded from the category of socially and educationally backward classes: -

(i) Governor (serving or retired);

(ii) Chief Justice and Judges (serving or retired) of High Court or the Supreme Court of India;

(iii) Chief Minister and Ex-Chief Minister;

(iv) Ministers and Ex-Ministers of Cabinet rank;

(v) Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers having more than one term;

(vi) Chairman and members of Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission or the Union Public Service Commission;

(vii) Members of the State Legislature (elected and nominated both) having more than one term irrespective of the period under the second term;

(viii) Members of All India Services;

(ix) any person whose annual income from all sources, determined in the prescribed manner, exceeds rupees three lacs or such amount as may be notified by the Government from time to time in accordance with the prescribed norms :

Provided that the income ceiling shall not apply to a person who has lived and completed entire school education from an area identified as Backward or Actual Line of Control or International Border, as the case maybe, and in case such schooling is not available in such area, from the nearest adjoining area;

(x) such other persons as the Government may notify from time to time;

(p) "selection agency" means the agency, authority, Board or official committee, as the case may be, prescribed for recommending appointments or promotions or for selecting candidates for admission to professional institutions and includes the appointing authority wherever selections are made directly by such authority;

(q) "weak and under-privileged classes" means the classes declared as such under notification SRO-394 dated 5-9-1981 read with notification SRO-272 dated 3-7-1982 and notification SRO-316 dated 18-7-1984 as amended from time to time.

  (2) The words 'service', 'class', 'category' and 'grade' shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in service rules in force in the State.