HC nullifies law to increase reservation for SC/ST

View of Karnataka High Court,

The Karnataka High Court on Monday struck down a law increasing reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) above the 50% ceiling, ruling that the enhancement was “constitutionally impermissible”.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemalekha declared Sections 3 and 4 of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and Appointment or Posts in State-wise Services) Act, 2022 ultra vires the Constitution and struck down the two provisions.

During Bommai’s regime

The law, which came into force retrospectively from November 1, 2022, during the previous BJP government under Basavaraj Bommai, increased reservation for SCs from 15% to 17% and for STs from 3% to 7%. As the 32% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) remained unchanged, the overall reservation in the state rose from 50% to 56%, violating the judicially mandated 50% ceiling set by the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney vs Union of India (1992) and subsequently upheld in many decisions.

The bench delivered its verdict on a number of petitions, including a public interest litigation filed by social worker Mahendra Kumar Mitra and a petition by civil engineering graduates Sagar HR and others challenging reservation in recruitment to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on the basis of increased reservation quota.

The 50% principle.

The main focus of the Bench judgment was on the question whether the State can exceed the 50% limit for reservation. In its 170-page judgement, which relied extensively on the Supreme Court’s findings on the ceiling for reservations, the Bench concluded that the 50% limit is not a mere rule of caution but a binding constitutional principle that embodies the balance between equality of opportunity and affirmative action.

“The ceiling limit of 50% is to be understood as limiting the power of the State to provide reservation within the said parameters, irrespective of the numerical strength of the backward classes,” the Bench observed.

The State’s Argument

The bench rejected the state’s argument that the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, which introduced 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), abrogated the 50% rule. The Bench clarified that the EWS quota is taken out of the overall merit pool and does not allow the state to expand reservation for backward classes above the ceiling.

Published – 12 Oct 2026 20:34 IST