Government fights to 'save' quota hikes: Why the Supreme Court appeal matters for millions

The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday decided to file an appeal before the Supreme Court against the recent order of the High Court of Karnataka that struck down the law to increase reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) beyond the 50% ceiling.

Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara told media persons after the Cabinet meeting that the Cabinet had decided to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court in this regard.

He said the government would decide the next moves with respect to legal and administrative actions, particularly the possibility of including the proposal on increasing reservation in the 9th Schedule, after discussing the issue at the Political Affairs Committee.

A Division Bench of the High Court had struck down 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, which had come into force retrospectively from November 1, 2022, during the erstwhile BJP government led by Basavaraj Bommai.

The Act had increased reservation for SCs from 15% to 17% and for STs from 3% to 7%. Along with the 32% reservation for OBCs, the aggregate reservation in the State had increased from 50% to 56%, breaching the judicially established 50% ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court in the 1992 case of Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India (1992). Referring to this, the High Court had held that the increase in reservation was "constitutionally impermissible."

The High Court had delivered its verdict on a batch of petitions, including a public interest litigation filed by a social worker and a petition by civil engineering graduates, who had challenged the reservation in recruitment to the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) based on an increased reservation quota.

The High Court had observed that the 50% ceiling was not a mere rule of prudence but a binding constitutional principle that embodies the balance between equality of opportunity and affirmative action.

The High Court had rejected the State's argument that the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, which introduced 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections, had obliterated the 50% norm. It had clarified that the EWS quota was carved out from the general merit pool and does not permit the State to expand reservation for backward classes beyond the ceiling.