Karnataka reservation increase struck down beyond the 50% ceiling
Quick dive
- The Karnataka High Court struck down Sections 3 and 4 of the Karnataka SC/ST Reservation Act, 2022 as constitutionally impermissible.
- The Act retrospectively raised SC reservation from 15% to 17% and ST reservation from 3% to 7%, while OBC reservation remained 32%, taking total reservation from 50% to 56%.
- The Court relied on the 50% ceiling associated with Indra Sawhney v Union of India (1992), subject to the constitutional debate over extraordinary circumstances.
- The judgment illustrates tension between representation of historically disadvantaged groups, quantifiable data, State legislation and judicial review of equality provisions.
- exam_relevance: tests Articles 14-16, substantive equality, reservation ceilings and the Indra Sawhney doctrine; it echoes UPSC Prelims 2019 on constitutional provisions and Mains GS-II questions on affirmative action, with Karnataka’s 15+7+32=56% arithmetic as an exact angle.
Full explanation
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