Uttarakhand high court (File photo)

NAINITAL: In a judgement which may have far-reaching implications on the prospects of scores of unemployed youth in the state, the Uttarakhand high court ( HC ) has held that the state government “cannot discriminate citing residence as a criteria for appointment” as it “violates Article 16 of the Constitution of India which provides equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.”

Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice RC Khulbe delivered the order earlier this month while hearing a case related to employment of X-ray technicians in the state. A certified copy of the order was made available on Thursday.

The petitioner in the case (which dates to 2016), had stated that her job application was rejected by the state health department citing a prescribed eligibility criteria which said that a candidate should be registered with the employment exchange programme within any district of the state to apply for the job.

After hearing the deliberations, the court observed, “The only course available to the state government is to request the Centre to introduce a bill in Parliament, for Article 16(3) of the Constitution of India stipulates that nothing in Article 16 shall prevent Parliament from making any law prescribing in regard to a class or classes of employment or appointment to an office under the government of, or any local or other authority, within a state, any requirement as to residence within that state prior to such employment or appointment.”

Reacting to the court’s order, Kartikey Hari Gupta, a practising advocate in the Nainital HC, told TOI, “Article 16 of the Constitution guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment to all citizens irrespective of their residency. Hence, the condition imposed by the Uttarakhand government for being a resident of the state in order to get selected has been held illegal by the honourable court through this order.”

