Karnataka High Court strikes down law raising SC, ST reservations beyond 50 percent limit

The Karnataka High Court has struck down key sections of a 2022 state legislation that expanded reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes beyond the 50 percent limit, ruling that the hike breached foundational constitutional guarantees of equality.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S. Hemalekha declared Sections 3 and 4 of 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 unconstitutional. The court held that the 50 percent cap established by the Supreme Court is a binding legal discipline designed to maintain an orderly balance between affirmative action and equal opportunity.

Why the quota hike was challenged

The contested legislation came into effect retrospectively from 1 November 2022 under the state administration headed by Basavaraj Bommai. It increased reservations for Scheduled Castes from 15 percent to 17 percent and for Scheduled Tribes from 3 percent to 7 percent.

Because the existing 32 percent allocation for Other Backward Classes remained unchanged, the aggregate reservation quota in Karnataka climbed from 50 percent to 56 percent. Multiple petitions challenged the validity of this expansion, including a public interest litigation filed by social worker Mahendra Kumar Mitra and a plea by civil engineering graduates Sagar H.R and others contesting recruitment quotas in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.

Upholding constitutional balance

In its 170-page judgment, the bench reaffirmed the ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court in the 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment. The judges observed that the 50 percent limit is not a mere rule of prudence, but a structural safeguard circumscribing state authority, irrespective of the demographic proportion of backward classes.

"The ceiling limit of 50% has to be understood as circumscribing the power of the State to provide for reservation within the said parameters, notwithstanding the numerical strength of the backward classes," the bench observed.

The judges dismissed arguments that population strength or evidence of inadequate representation automatically empowered the state to pierce the ceiling. While quantifiable data could justify targeted welfare and internal reservation measures within existing parameters, the bench noted that it could not serve as an automatic licence to bypass settled constitutional limits. The court also rejected the contention that the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, which introduced a 10 percent quota for Economically Weaker Sections, had dissolved the 50 percent threshold, clarifying that the economic quota is drawn from general merit.

Political reactions

The judgment drew sharp political commentary. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called the decision a setback on social media, questioning the legal drafting of the measure prior to the 2023 assembly elections and urging the Union government to examine quota caps. The ruling reinforces administrative stability by anchoring state recruitment and admissions strictly within established apex court precedents.