The Patna High Court on Thursday, June 20, set aside the amendments passed by the Bihar government in the year 2023 to increase the reservation for Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs) from 50% to 65%.
A bench comprising of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Harish Kumar passed the order on a batch of petitions that had challenged the enactments as violative of equal opportunity for citizens in matters of employment and education.
The Court set aside the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (Amendment) Act, 2023 and The Bihar (In admission in Educational Institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023 as ultra vires and violative of the equality clause under Articles 14, 15 and 16.
The law increased caste base reservation to 65% in government jobs and admissions in higher educational institutions in Bihar. The Mahagathbandhan government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had increased the reservations for OBC, EBC, Dalit and Adivasis based on the caste survey report.
An organisation named Youth for Equality had challenged the reservation in Patna High Court.