Karnataka High Court Strikes Down Enhanced SC/ST Quota for Crossing the 50% Ceiling: What It Means
A division bench of the Karnataka High Court struck down provisions 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.
The 2022 Act had raised reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) from 15% to 17% and for Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 3% to 7%. With the 32% quota for Other Backward Classes, this took the state's total reservation to 56%.
The court held that the provisions, to the extent they pushed total reservation above 50%, violated Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. It said the 50% limit restricts the State's power regardless of the population share of backward classes. Data on inadequate representation can justify reservation, but not automatically allow the State to cross the ceiling. The provision on enhanced reservation in state government services was also struck down.
Earlier, while the case was pending, the High Court had ordered that no fresh recruitment be started under the 2022 law until further orders.
The Karnataka Cabinet will now examine the verdict and decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court. It will also study the effect on admissions and recruitments already completed under the 56% structure.
The state had asked the Union government in March 2023 to place the law in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, as was done for Tamil Nadu's 69% reservation law. Placing a law in the Ninth Schedule needs a constitutional amendment by Parliament.
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992): The 50% Ceiling Rule
Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992), also called the Mandal case, is the most important Supreme Court judgment on reservation. A nine-judge bench upheld 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in central government jobs, based on the Mandal Commission report. It also laid down that total reservation should normally not exceed 50%, so that the right to equal opportunity is not swallowed by the exception.
The Karnataka High Court applied the Indra Sawhney ceiling directly. Since the 2022 Act took total reservation to 56% without showing an extraordinary situation, the court struck down the part that crossed 50%.
Articles 15(4) and 16(4): Reservation for Backward Classes
Article 15 bans discrimination by the State, and Article 16 promises equal opportunity in government jobs. But treating unequal people equally can keep them unequal. So the Constitution allows special provisions. Article 15(4) lets the State make special provisions, including reserved seats in education, for socially and educationally backward classes, SCs and STs. Article 16(4) lets the State reserve government jobs for any backward class that is not adequately represented in state services.
Karnataka's 2022 Act used the State's power under Articles 15(4) and 16(4) to raise SC and ST quotas in colleges and state jobs. The court did not question this power itself, only its use beyond the 50% limit.
The Ninth Schedule: Laws Shielded from Court Challenge
The Ninth Schedule is a list of laws attached to the Constitution. Under Article 31B, laws placed in it cannot be struck down on the ground that they violate Fundamental Rights. It was added by the First Amendment, 1951, mainly to protect land reform laws. A law can be added only by a constitutional amendment passed by Parliament with a special majority.
Tamil Nadu's 69% is often cited as the example Karnataka wants to follow. But adding Karnataka's law to the Ninth Schedule needs a constitutional amendment by Parliament, and after I.R. Coelho even that protection can be tested against the basic structure.
- Law struck down (to the extent it crossed 50%): Karnataka SC/ST (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 2022
- SC quota: 15% → 17%; ST quota: 3% → 7%; total reservation in Karnataka: 56% (with OBC 32%)
- Grounds: violation of Articles 14 and 15; 50% ceiling from Indra Sawhney (1992)
- Hike recommended by the Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das Commission (report 2020); ordinance notified 23 October 2022; Bill passed by the Assembly in December 2022
- Ninth Schedule request sent to the Centre: March 2023
- Tamil Nadu 69% reservation: protected by the 76th Amendment (1994), Ninth Schedule
- I.R. Coelho (2007): Ninth Schedule laws added after 24 April 1973 are open to basic structure review
- EWS (10%) is outside the 50% ceiling: Janhit Abhiyan (2022)