Patna HC strikes down Bihar laws increasing reservation for SC, ST, OBC to 65%

NEW DELHI: The Patna High Court has nullified the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (Amendment) Act, 2023, and The Bihar (In Admission in Educational Institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, ruling them as ultra vires and violative of the equality clause under Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution.

The Division bench, comprising chief justice K Vinod Chandran and justice Harish Kumar, delivered this verdict while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenged the amendments passed by the Bihar legislature. These Bihar amendments aimed to increase the reservation for Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) from the existing 50% to 65%.

Reserves judgment on quota increase

According to a report by the Times of India, the high court had reserved its judgment in March on a series of writ petitions questioning the constitutional validity of the proposed quota increase. These petitions were filed by Gaurav Kumar and others, who argued that the amendments violated the principles of equality enshrined in the Constitution.

The state government had notified the amended reservation laws on November 21, 2023, aiming to expand the quota in government jobs and higher educational institutions to 65%.

Legislature amends Bihar reservation act to address inequality

In 2023, the legislature amended the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (For Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes) Act, 1991. This decision was based on data showing that SC, ST and other backward classes were less in number in government services. Consequently, the reservation for these groups was increased to 65 percent, reducing the allocation for the open merit category to 35 percent.

Bihar reservation policy

As per Bar and Bench report, the reservations for the reserved category were as follows:

For admission

For direct recruitment