Today, On 2nd July, Bihar approached the Supreme Court following a Patna High Court ruling that invalidated a law increasing reservations for SC/STs and backward classes to 65% in 2023. This decision reduced the open merit category to 35%.
New Delhi: The Bihar government approached the Supreme Court, contesting the Patna High Court‘s decision to nullify the increase in reservations for Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs) from 50% to 65% in public employment and educational institution admissions.
This appeal follows the State government‘s disagreement with the High Court’s judgment, which delivered on June 20 by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Harish Kumar.
Read Also: Patna HC Scraps Bihar’s 65% Reservation Policy for Backward Classes, EBCs, SCs, and STs
The bench ruled against the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes) Amendment Act, 2023, and The Bihar (In admission in Educational Institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, declaring them unconstitutional and in violation of the equality principles enshrined in Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution.
The original amendment in 2023 to the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (For Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes) Act, 1991, enacted after reviewing data that highlighted the underrepresentation of SC/ST and other backward classes in government employment.
The recent High Court ruling came after a series of petitions argued that the increased quota infringed upon citizens’ right to equal opportunity in employment and education.
The Bihar government increased the reservation for the reserved category to 65 percent, reducing the space for those from the open merit category to 35 percent.
In its judgment, the High Court reasoned that the caste survey report relied upon by the state itself revealed that backward communities adequately represented in public employment, through a combination of reservation and merit-based selection. The High Court opined that this was an indication that one or more caste or community had already reaped the benefits of reservation and various welfare schemes implemented by the state, achieving a certain level of social capital.
The High Court further advised the state to introspect on the reservation percentage within the 50 percent limit, and exclude the ‘creamy layer’ from the benefits.
This decision by the High Court has now been challenged before the Supreme Court by the Bihar government, represented by advocate Manish Kumar.