Why the MP High Court struck down the 27% OBC quota: the state failed the data test

The Madhya Pradesh High Court struck down the 2019 law raising OBC reservation from 14% to 27% on October 9, 2026, largely because the state's evidence failed to justify breaching the 50% reservation ceiling. A division bench of Justices Anand Pathak and Vinay Saraf rejected the state's reliance on the 1983 Mahajan Committee report, which it said was outdated by more than four decades, and on the 2023 Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University of Social Science (BRAUSS) report, which it found was a post-facto exercise covering only about 10,000 OBC respondents out of a population of over 7.26 crore, with no comparative assessment against other categories. The bench noted that no periodic survey had been conducted as mandated under Section 11 of the MP Backward Classes Commission Act, 1995. Citing data showing OBCs account for 33.87% of higher-education enrolment and 28.16% of government jobs, the court held that Article 16(4) demands adequate, not proportionate, representation. Sources: The Bar Bulletin, Hindustan Times (Thebarbulletin, Hindustan Times)

• The Madhya Pradesh High Court struck down the 2019 law raising OBC reservation from 14% to 27% on October 9, 2026, largely because the state's evidence failed to justify breaching the 50% reservation ceiling.
• A division bench of Justices Anand Pathak and Vinay Saraf rejected the state's reliance on the 1983 Mahajan Committee report, which it said was outdated by more than four decades, and on the 2023 Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Univ
• The bench noted that no periodic survey had been conducted as mandated under Section 11 of the MP Backward Classes Commission Act, 1995.