Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday struck down the 2019 legislation that increased the reservation for Other Backward Classes in the state from 14 percent to 27 percent, ruling that the hike violated the constitutional limit and the 50 percent ceiling established by the Supreme Court. The court's decision effectively restores the OBC quota to 14 percent.
In its 159-page ruling, a division bench comprising Justices Anand Pathak and Vinay Saraf stated that the state lacked extraordinary circumstances to justify exceeding the Supreme Court's reservation cap. The judges criticized the 2019 amendment as being passed in undue haste with drafting errors that demonstrated the government's poor preparation, ultimately declaring the law ultra vires to constitutional provisions.
The bench clarified that the legal dispute focused strictly on the proportion of the reservation rather than the fundamental entitlement of OBCs to quotas. After reviewing available data regarding higher education and public employment, the court concluded that OBCs were already adequately represented and that no emergent conditions existed to support raising the limit to 27 percent.
The 2019 ordinance and subsequent law had been introduced by the then Congress government led by Kamal Nath. Following multiple legal challenges, the matter was reviewed and finally reserved after hearings concluded in August. Under the new high court directive, recruitment bodies such as the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission and the Employees Selection Board must fill 13 percent of government posts that were previously kept on hold, drawing from the unreserved category within three months.
At the same time, the court protected individuals who received appointments under the expanded 27 percent quota between March 2019 and September 2022, ruling that they will retain their positions without removal. Any excess appointments made during that period will be gradually adjusted across the next three recruitment cycles. Meanwhile, positions restricted to 87 percent since September 2022 will now see the remaining pending portions cleared through unreserved appointments.
State Advocate General Prashant Singh noted that the verdict followed a comprehensive review of official tables and documents. Political figures and community groups have already signaled further legal steps. State Congress president Jitu Patwari criticized the ruling and announced plans to challenge it in the Supreme Court, accusing the current administration of working against backward classes. Representatives from the OBC Mahasabha similarly expressed disappointment and promised both a legal appeal and a state-wide agitation to protect community rights.