MP High Court strikes down 27% OBC quota, restores 14% reservation

The Madhya Pradesh High Court struck down the 2019 law raising OBC reservation to 27 per cent and restored the quota to 14 per cent. The ruling clears pending posts for unreserved recruitment while setting up a fresh Supreme Court battle.Image used for representational purposes onlyJabalpur,Oct 9, 2026 20:48 ISTThe Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday struck down the 2019 law that raised reservation for Other Backward Classes from 14 per cent to 27 per cent in the state, saying it was unconstitutional and went against the 50 per cent ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court. The court restored the OBC quota to 14 per cent.In its order, the court said there were no extraordinary circumstances to justify crossing the ceiling. It also directed that 13 per cent of posts kept on hold because of the legal challenge be filled from the unreserved category within three months, while protecting jobs already given under the enhanced quota during a specified period.In its 159-page order, a division bench of Justices Anand Pathak and Vinay Saraf said the amendment lacked adequate preparation and was passed in "undue haste", with drafting errors reflecting the government's "ill-preparedness". It declared the amendment "ultra vires to the constitutional provisions" and contrary to the 50 per cent ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court.The bench said the case was about the extent of reservation and not about the entitlement of OBCs to reservation. It held that available data on higher education and public services showed OBCs were adequately represented and that there was no case for increasing their quota from 14 per cent to 27 per cent. "No extraordinary conditions or emergent situations exist" to justify exceeding the ceiling, the court observed, referring to the Supreme Court's judgments in the Indra Sawhney and Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil cases. The court struck down the 2019 ordinance and the subsequent amendment brought by the then Kamal Nath-led Congress government, which had raised OBC reservation in public services and higher education. It directed the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission, the Employees Selection Board and other recruitment agencies to fill the 13 per cent of posts kept on hold from the unreserved category within three months.The order said OBC candidates appointed under the enhanced quota between March 2019 and September 29, 2022, would keep their jobs and would not be removed. The posts occupied by these candidates in excess of the 14 per cent quota would be adjusted in the next three recruitment drives. The court said appointments made after September 29, 2022, had been restricted to 87 per cent of the posts, with the remaining 13 per cent kept pending until the outcome of the case, and these posts must now be filled from the unreserved category. Advocate General Prashant Singh, appearing for the state government, said the court delivered its verdict after examining documents, data and tables. He said the dispute was about the increase in OBC reservation from 14 per cent to 27 per cent in 2019 in government jobs and education, and not about reservation for backward communities itself.The Kamal Nath-led Congress government, which was in power in Madhya Pradesh from December 2018 to March 2020, had increased OBC reservation from 14 per cent to 27 per cent through an ordinance on March 8, 2019. It became law on August 14 that year. The move was challenged in the high court, and the matter later went to the Supreme Court before being sent back to the Madhya Pradesh High Court for a joint hearing and decision on the connected petitions. The final hearing ended on August 5 this year, after which the bench reserved its verdict.State Congress president Jitu Patwari said his party would continue its fight for 27 per cent OBC reservation. He accused the BJP government and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav of conspiring against OBCs and said the Congress would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court. The OBC Mahasabha also expressed disappointment. Lokendra Gurjar, a member of its national core committee and a petitioner in the case, said the organisation would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court and launch a state-wide agitation to protect the rights of OBCs. Former Madhya Pradesh State Backward Classes Commission chairman J P Dhanopia alleged the ruling resulted from the state government's "ill intentions" and said the government had failed to present the facts effectively before the court, depriving OBCs of the benefits of 27 per cent reservation.The ruling restores OBC reservation in Madhya Pradesh to 14 per cent, sets a three-month timeline to fill the 13 per cent pending posts from the unreserved category, and leaves room for further legal and political challenge from the Congress and OBC groups.- Ends