BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh High Court’s principal bench at Jabalpur, on Wednesday, continued its stay on the government decision to raise the reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 14 percent to 27 per cent in government jobs and educational institutions. The next hearing is scheduled to be held on January 4, 2021.
The petitions were filed in the high court following the decision of the Kamal Nath-led Congress government to increase the quota of OBCs in March 2019. Additional Advocate General Swapnil Ganguly said, “High Court has ordered continuation of its order on stay on government decision to increase the OBC reservation from 14 percent to 27 percent. The next hearing will be on January 4.”
The petitioners challenging the decision said that reservation in government jobs and educational institutions cannot exceed 50 per cent of the seats as per Supreme Court guidelines. The government has pleaded that 51 per cent population of the state is OBC and if this is taken into account then OBCs, STs and SCs collectively account for about 87 per cent of the total population, argued the petitioners. If the government’s request is taken into account, then it can justify its reservation for up to 87 per cent, but will that be justice to people from other segments of society, asked the petitioners.
