Patna HC overturns Bihar’s decision to raise quotas beyond 50% cap

Patna: In a significant setback for the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, the Patna High Court on Thursday nullified its decision from last year to increase quotas for Dalits, backward classes, and tribals from 50 to 65 per cent.

A Division Bench led by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran delivered the verdict on several petitions challenging the state government’s legislation introduced in November 2023.

The quota increase was based on a comprehensive caste survey, which provided a new estimate of the populations of SCs, STs, OBCs, and extremely backward classes (EBCs) in Bihar.

On November 21 of the previous year, the Nitish Kumar government issued gazette notifications to raise the quotas for these disadvantaged groups from 50 to 65 per cent in state government jobs and educational institutions.

Ritika Rani, one of the counsels representing the petitioners, stated, “The court has allowed the petitions based on our argument that the amendments violated Articles 14, 16, and 20 of the Constitution.” These articles pertain to equality before the law (Art 14), equality of opportunity in public employment (Art 16), and protection of certain rights in criminal cases (Art 20).

Nirbhay Prashant, another counsel for the petitioners, explained that the state government defended its move by emphasising the caste survey. “However,” he noted, “we cited the Supreme Court’s judgments in the Indra Sawhney case and the more recent decision on Maratha reservations, which made it clear that no state government can exceed the 50 per cent quota cap.”

The state government released its caste survey report on October 2 of the previous year, following the Centre’s inability to include a broader headcount of social groups in the census beyond SCs and STs. The survey indicated that OBCs and EBCs made up 63 per cent of the state’s population, while SCs and STs combined accounted for over 21 per cent.

The state government argued that the Supreme Court’s 50 per cent cap on reservations had already been breached by the Centre’s

introduction of 10 per cent quotas for economically weaker sections (EWS), which had been adopted in Bihar as well. Subsequently, the state amended its reservation laws to increase the quotas for SCs, STs, OBCs, and EBCs to 65 per cent, raising the total reserved seats to 75 per cent of the population when combined with the EWS quotas.

The state also requested the Centre to include the amended reservation laws in the Constitution’s Ninth Schedule, which protects certain laws from judicial review. In 1992, the Supreme Court had set a 50 per cent limit on reservations for backward classes. The amended quota laws generated considerable attention and may have influenced the Congress party, then in coalition with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) in Bihar, to promise a nationwide caste survey if it came to power at the Centre.

Meanwhile, the BJP, which returned to power in the state following Kumar’s political shift, also sought credit for the survey, highlighting that it had been initiated in 2022 while they were part of the ruling coalition.