Bihar Govt Moves SC Against Striking Down Of Hike In Quota

The Patna High Court’s ruling to overturn the legislation that increased the state’s reservation for Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 50% to 65% has been challenged by the Bihar government in the Supreme Court. The quota hike that was implemented in Bihar’s educational institutions and workforce was relevant to jobs.

The Bihar Assembly’s 2023 amendments were, however, struck down by a high court division bench led by Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran in its June 20 ruling, citing a violation of the equality clause under Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution. This decision dealt a severe blow to the state government. The Bihar government increased the quota after conducting a caste survey within the state. In November 2023, a notification was released to modify the current reservation legislation.

Some petitions against the Nitish Kumar government’s decision were submitted to the Patna High Court. The submissions argued that the reserve could not be more than 50% by the law established by Supreme Court rulings. Under the contested law, the state’s quota would have been increased to 75%, with 20% going to SCs, 2% going to STs, 25% going to Extremely Backward Classes, 18% going to Other Backward Classes (OBC), and 10% going to Economically Backward Classes.