Karnataka High Court strikes down enhanced SC/ST quota, says it breaches 50% ceiling

The Karnataka High Court on Monday struck down as unconstitutional the 2022 law that raised reservation for Scheduled Castes from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for Scheduled Tribes from 3 per cent to 7 per cent, taking the state's total reservation to 56 per cent. A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K S Hemalekha held that Sections 3 and 4 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 violated Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution by breaching the 50 per cent ceiling laid down in Indra Sawhney (1992). The court also found the state had failed to consult the National Commissions for SCs and STs before enacting the law, as required under Articles 338(9) and 338-A(9) — letters written nearly three years after enactment could not count as consultation. Reported by Deccan Herald and The Indian Express. (Deccanherald, Indian Express)

• The Karnataka High Court on Monday struck down as unconstitutional the 2022 law that raised reservation for Scheduled Castes from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for Scheduled Tribes from 3 per cent to 7 per cent, taking
• A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K S Hemalekha held that Sections 3 and 4 of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointm
• The court also found the state had failed to consult the National Commissions for SCs and STs before enacting the law, as required under Articles 338(9) and 338-A(9) — letters written nearly three years after enactment c