Karnataka High Court Strikes Down Enhanced 17% SC and 7% ST Quotas Beyond 50% Ceiling

The Karnataka High Court has struck down the enhanced quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 2022. The order came in public interest litigation challenging the hike for crossing the 50% ceiling on total reservation. Admissions and public appointments under the increased shares face uncertainty while the challenge to the verdict is pending.

Basavaraj Bommai's BJP government had enacted the hike. It raised the Scheduled Caste share from 15% to 17% and the Scheduled Tribe share from 3% to 7%, while retaining the 32% quota for Other Backward Classes. The High Court set aside the increased percentages and accepted the ceiling ground.

Demand for Ninth Schedule protection

In Mysuru on Wednesday, former MP and Congress leader V.S. Ugrappa addressed a press conference. He called the judgment a setback to social justice. The former parliamentarian said the 2022 law should go into the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to shield it from legal challenge.

According to Ugrappa, the government led by D.K. Shivakumar has filed a Special Leave Petition against the High Court judgment before the Supreme Court. The appeal would give only temporary relief. Lasting protection required constitutional shielding through the Ninth Schedule, he said.

Ugrappa urged BJP leaders to press the Union government for the inclusion. Correspondence sent by the Bommai government in March 2023 and later by the subsequent government to the Union government did not produce the desired result, he said. An all-party delegation should meet the Prime Minister to press for inclusion of the law in the Ninth Schedule, he added.

At the briefing, he said reservation was the right of every individual. People of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class communities form a large part of the population and deserve their due share, he said. The outcome of the Special Leave Petition will decide whether the State can continue admissions and recruitment under the enhanced shares.