MP Reservation Row: High Court Asks Chief Secretary To Ensure 50% Quota Ceiling Across Departments

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Madhya Pradesh High Court's principal bench at Jabalpur has directed the chief secretary to personally monitor and ensure that the 50% reservation ceiling is not breached in the state.

The direction came during a recent hearing on reservation in promotion. The next hearing is on Dec 01.

The court directed the chief secretary to personally supervise compliance and ensure that no department breaches the 50% ceiling by promoting more than 50% incumbents from reserved categories until the petition is decided or the Supreme Court decides R.B. Rai and Others, tagged with Jarnail Singh and Others, as the case may be.

The HC is hearing a case concerning the state's move to increase OBC reservation from 14% to 27%, which would take the overall reservation beyond the 50% ceiling.

The court observed that consideration for promotion is a fundamental right of an employee.

At the same time, it noted that the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney and Others Vs. Union of India and Others continues to operate.

According to the Supreme Court's ruling, the upper ceiling for reservation is 50%, and "directly or indirectly that ceiling cannot be breached", the HC observed.

Advocate General Prashant Singh informed the HC that the Supreme Court's April 2026 order in Jarnail Singh and Ors. vs. Lachhmi Narain Gupta and Ors. had directed that appeals be placed before appropriate benches within three months. The matter is still pending before the Supreme Court.