📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Muhammad Mahdi Karim/ Augustus Binu
Politics
Karnataka High Court annuls 2022 SC/ST reservation amendment
✍️ News On AIR
🗓 16 Oct 2026, 06:32 AM
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The Karnataka High Court has declared unconstitutional the 2022 law that raised reservation quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, overturning the amendment passed by the state government.
Bengaluru's Karnataka High Court delivered a landmark judgment on Thursday, striking down the 2022 amendment that sought to increase reservation percentages for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the state. The bench held that the amendment violated constitutional provisions governing the ceiling for backward‑class reservations.
The challenged law had been introduced by the Karnataka government to raise the SC/ST quota from the existing 15% to 18% in public employment and educational institutions. Petitioners argued that the increase would breach the 50% cap set by the Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney case.
In its ruling, the court emphasized that any alteration to reservation percentages must adhere to the constitutional ceiling and require a thorough demographic study, which was absent in the 2022 amendment. Consequently, the law was declared null and void, restoring the earlier reservation framework.
The decision is expected to prompt a review of the state's reservation policy and may lead to further legal challenges or legislative revisions. Government officials have said they will consider the court's observations before proposing any new measures.
Legal experts note that the judgment reinforces the judiciary's role in safeguarding affirmative‑action policies within constitutional limits, and it could influence similar reservation debates in other Indian states.
The challenged law had been introduced by the Karnataka government to raise the SC/ST quota from the existing 15% to 18% in public employment and educational institutions. Petitioners argued that the increase would breach the 50% cap set by the Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney case.
In its ruling, the court emphasized that any alteration to reservation percentages must adhere to the constitutional ceiling and require a thorough demographic study, which was absent in the 2022 amendment. Consequently, the law was declared null and void, restoring the earlier reservation framework.
The decision is expected to prompt a review of the state's reservation policy and may lead to further legal challenges or legislative revisions. Government officials have said they will consider the court's observations before proposing any new measures.
Legal experts note that the judgment reinforces the judiciary's role in safeguarding affirmative‑action policies within constitutional limits, and it could influence similar reservation debates in other Indian states.