The Patna High Court has nullified Bihar's imposition of a 65 per cent reservation cap for government jobs and educational institutions. This move overturns the state's effort to increase quotas for backward, extremely backward classes, scheduled castes, and scheduled tribes beyond the previously set limit of 50 per cent.
The court's ruling follows a series of writ petitions challenging the constitutionality of Bihar's amendments to reservation laws. Initially proposed in November last year and formally enacted through two bills, the amendments aimed to elevate reservation levels from 50 per cent to 65 per cent, making Bihar the state with the highest reservation percentage among larger states.
The division bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Harish Kumar concluded a marathon hearing on 10 writ petitions, including those filed by Gaurav Kumar and others, challenging these legislative changes. These petitioners contested the amendments on grounds of constitutional validity.
Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar had previously given his assent to the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes) Amendment Bill-2023 and the Bihar (in admission in educational institutions) Reservation Bill, 2023, which were subsequently gazetted into law.
The revised reservation structure included quotas of 20 per cent for scheduled castes, two per cent for scheduled tribes, 25 per cent for extremely backward classes, and 18 per cent for backward classes, alongside a 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections among upper castes.
Reacting to the gazette notification last year, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar emphasized the importance of implementing these increased quotas effectively in state government jobs and educational institutions to benefit those in need.
This legal development echoes a similar instance last year when the Punjab and Haryana High Court invalidated the Haryana state Employment of Local Candidates Act 2020, which aimed to introduce 75 per cent reservation in Haryana industries for state domiciles. Industrial bodies in Haryana had challenged this legislation, arguing it infringed upon employers' constitutional rights and the merit-based nature of private sector employment.
