The SC Reservation Marriage Ruling became a major topic after the Uttarakhand High Court gave a clear decision on who can claim state-specific reservation benefits. The Court stated that a woman from a Scheduled Caste in one state cannot receive SC reservation benefits in another state only because she married there.
Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari heard several petitions, including the case of Anshu Sagar. She was born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, into the Jatav community, which appears on the SC list in that state. When she married a Scheduled Caste man from Uttarakhand, she received a caste certificate and a permanent residence certificate from Jaspur. She then applied for reservation benefits in Uttarakhand government jobs.
The Court rejected her claim. It said that reservation is state-specific and depends on the place of birth, not marriage. The Court added that marriage does not change a person’s caste status for government employment. A woman cannot gain new reservation benefits in another state just because she marries someone from the same caste in that state.
This ruling gives strong guidance to recruitment authorities. It also clarifies many similar cases that may come up in the future. Every state maintains its own SC and ST lists, and these lists do not transfer when someone moves or marries.
