New Delhi: The Patna high court on Thursday (June 20) struck down the increased reservations introduced by the Bihar government after it conducted a caste census last year.
Under the Bihar Reservation (for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Back Classes) (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the Bihar (in admission in educational institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, total reservations for SC, ST and OBC groups had increased to 65% of seats, up from the earlier 50%.
A division bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Harish Kumar said the amendments were ultra vires and violative of equality under the Indian Constitution, and so struck them down, Livelaw reported.
Ritika Rani, one of the counsels appearing for the petitioners, told PTI, “We had submitted that the amendments to the reservation laws were violative of the Constitution. After hearing both sides, the court had reserved its judgment in March. Today the final order has come and our petitions have been allowed.
The full order is yet to be released.
In the campaign for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, opposition parties had raised promised a nationwide caste census if voted to power, and a rejig of reservations policies in light of the census results. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, has spoken against the need for such a census.
