📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Muhammad Mahdi Karim/ Augustus Binu
Politics
Karnataka HC Strikes Down Enhanced SC/ST Quota, Upholds 50% Ceiling
✍️ The Economic Times
🗓 14 Oct 2026, 07:36 AM
👁 15
The Karnataka High Court has annulled recent amendments that increased reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, ruling that the total reservation cannot exceed 50% as per the Constitution.
In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court struck down the state legislature's recent amendments that sought to raise the reservation quota for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in public employment and education.
The court held that the amendments violated the constitutional ceiling of 50% on total reservations, a limit that applies to all states.
Justice ... said the changes would have pushed the reservation share beyond the permissible limit, thereby contravening Article 16(4) and the Supreme Court's earlier pronouncements.
The decision means that the state must revert to the previous quota structure, and any future proposals will be scrutinized for compliance with the 50% cap.
The court held that the amendments violated the constitutional ceiling of 50% on total reservations, a limit that applies to all states.
Justice ... said the changes would have pushed the reservation share beyond the permissible limit, thereby contravening Article 16(4) and the Supreme Court's earlier pronouncements.
The decision means that the state must revert to the previous quota structure, and any future proposals will be scrutinized for compliance with the 50% cap.