Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Citing an interim order by the principal bench, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has stayed a government order for grant of 27 per cent quota to OBC candidates in sub-engineers, draftsmen, and other equivalent Group 3 posts for which the Professional Examination Board has undertaken the process.
A division bench comprising Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice Prakash Chandra Gupta issued the order on a petition filed by Deepak Jain and Navneet Sharma through their advocates Hitesh Biherani, Kamlesh Bangar and Saurabh Bajpai.
The petition challenged the state government notification 2019 by which the reservation to the OBC category has been increased from 14% to 27%, apart from 16% reservation to Scheduled Casts and 20% to Scheduled Tribes already prescribed under the law.
Biherani said that following the notification, the statutorily prescribed reservation has gone up to 63% which is more than 50% and is Constitutionally impermissible.
“In similar writ petition No 5901/2019, the Principal Seat, vide order dated 19.03.2019, had granted interim protection to the petitioner therein. In view of the aforesaid, it is directed that the respondents shall not provide reservation of more than 14% for OBC category to the posts of Sub-Engineer, Draftsman, Samaypal and other equivalent posts for Group-3, which is subject matter of this petition,” the HC ruled.
The court also issued notice to the state government, general administration department and PEB and fixed the next date for hearing on May 12.
