Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, Bihar govt on RJD’s plea against striking down of quota in state

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine a plea filed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) questioning the validity of Patna High Court's decision, striking down the law introduced to enhance reservation from 50 per cent to 65 per cent for Backward Classes (BCs), Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Bihar.

A Bench presided over by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud issued a notice to the Centre, the Bihar government and others in the matter and directed tagging the RJD’s plea with pending petitions.

Senior advocate P Wilson, representing the RJD, submitted before the Bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, that Backward Classes comprise 85 per cent of the population of Bihar and the ceiling of 50 per cent is not sacrosanct as per the top court’s judgment in the Janhit Abhiyan Vs Union of India case, where 10 per cent reservation for people from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs was held to be constitutional.

The top court, on July 29, admitted the state government’s plea seeking restoration of the quota hike, which was applicable in jobs and educational institutions in Bihar but refused to pass any interim relief.

It listed the batch of petitions for final hearing in September 2024.

In a major blow to the state government, the Patna High Court, in its June 20 judgment, nullified amendments passed by the Bihar Assembly in 2023, saying that they violated the equality clause under Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution.

The quota was raised by the Bihar government after it carried out a caste survey in the state.

In a notification issued in November 2023, it sought to amend the existing reservation laws.

The impugned law would have brought the quota to a total of 75 per cent in the state, which included 20 per cent for SCs, 2 per cent for STs, 25 per cent for EBCs, 18 per cent for OBCs and 10 per cent for Economically Backward Classes.

Several petitions were filed in the Patna High Court challenging the decision of the Nitish Kumar government.

The pleas contended that as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court judgments, reservation can't extend beyond 50 per cent.