CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court remanded on Friday the issue of reservation for Jats and five other communities in Haryana to the state backward classes (BC) commission for adjudication.

Setting March 31, 2018, as deadline for the commission, the HC also ordered that the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016 -for reservation to Jats and five other communities -be kept in abeyance until then. A division bench headed by Justice S S Saron passed the order while disposing of a petition questioning the legal validity of the quota granted by the state’s BJP government last year.

The bench asked the commission to gather quantifiable data regarding the issue by November 30, and invite claims or objections from concerned parties by December 31. The HC also clarified that the commission must decide as to how much percentage of quota is required for the communities.

All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti chief Yashpal Malik described the order as a “huge setback” for the community.