Karnataka HC strikes down SC, ST quota increase for breaching 50% cap

The Karnataka High Court on Monday struck down provisions of a 2022 law that increased reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in educational institutes and state government jobs, ruling that the enhanced quotas breached the 50% ceiling, Bar and Bench reported

A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemalekha declared Section 3 and Section 4 of the Act as unconstitutional, The Indian Express reported.

The law increased reservations for Scheduled Caste communities to 17% from 15% and for Scheduled Tribe communities to 7% from 3%. With the 32% quota for Other Backward Classes unchanged, the reservations in the state had risen to 56% from 50%.

The Act received the governor’s assent in January 2023 during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state and was given retrospective effect from November 1, 2022, Bar and Bench reported.

While Section 3 of the Act increased the reservations in educational institutes, Section 4 in state government jobs.

The court held that Section 3 violated Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law, and Article 15, which prohibits discrimination on grounds including caste. Section 4 violated Article 14 and Article 16, the latter guaranteeing equality of opportunity in public employment, the bench said.

The ruling came on petitions against the amended reservations matrix, including one filed...

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