Bihar Government Challenges Patna High Court Over Quota Amendment

In a significant legal development, the Bihar government has taken its stance on the reservation issue to the Supreme Court, challenging a recent decision by the Patna High Court.

Filed on Wednesday through advocate Manish Kumar, the petition contests the High Court’s ruling that struck down Bihar’s amendment Acts of 2023.

These Acts aimed to elevate reservation quotas from 50 percent to 65 percent for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and Economically Backward Classes (EBCs).

The state’s amended Acts allocated 20 percent for SCs, 2 percent for STs, 25 percent for EBCs, and 18 percent for OBCs, with the intent to enhance opportunities in government jobs and educational institutions for these historically marginalized communities.

The legal dispute however stemmed from a petition filed by Gaurav Kumar in the Patna High Court, arguing that exceeding the 50 percent reservation limit set by the Supreme Court in previous rulings was unconstitutional.

The High Court, in its detailed 87-page order dated 20 June, deemed the amendments unconstitutional on grounds of violating the fundamental Right to Equality.

Citing the landmark Indira Sawhney case precedent, the court further emphasized that any reservation exceeding 50 percent requires exceptional justification, which it found lacking in Bihar’s case.

The state’s decision to augment reservation quotas followed a comprehensive caste survey initiated by Bihar after the central government expressed limitations in conducting a broader caste census beyond SCs and STs.

This move by Bihar, aimed at addressing long-standing disparities, now faces a critical legal test at the highest judicial level in India.

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