Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Principal bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur on Monday adjourned the hearing on the hike in OBC quota from 14% to 27% in government jobs and admission in educational institutions to August 16.
Aditya Sanghi, who appeared on behalf of petitioners challenging the hike in reservation, said, “ The high court has adjourned the OBC reservation matter till August 16. HC has already stayed the government's decision to increase reservation for OBC candidates to 27% in the MPPSC and other recruitments.”
As a result of the ordinance increasing OBC reservation to 27%, over and above the 16% reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 20% for Scheduled Tribes (ST), the statutorily prescribed reservation had gone up to 63%, which he called ‘constitutionally impermissible’, advocate Sanghi added.
An application moved by the state government to vacate the stay on September 1, 2021, was also turned down by the court.
The petitioners challenging the legality of hike in OBC quota had contended that as per the law laid down in the Indra Sawhney case, the constitution bench of the Supreme Court has fixed the maximum limit of caste-based reservation at 50%. If the OBC reservation is raised to 27%, the total reservation in the state government jobs and educational institutions will go up to 63%.
Kamal Nath-led Congress government, on March 8, 2019, had passed an ordinance increasing reservation for the OBC category to 27% from the existing 14% in the state. About 10 days later, four MBBS students appearing for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examination seeking admission in medical colleges had challenged the MP’s government’s ordinance, citing Article 14 of the Constitution and pleading equality before law.
