In Bihar, the Patna High Court today struck down the state government’s decision to hike the reservation for backward classes, extremely backward classes, scheduled castes, and scheduled tribes (SCs and STs) from 50 to 65 per cent in government jobs and educational institutions. A division bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Harish Kumar had reserved its judgement on 11th March this year after hearing a bunch of writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the increase in the quota from 50 per cent to 65 per cent.

After the passage of bills in the state legislature related to increasing the quota of reservation, the state government notified rules of related acts last year in November aimed to raise the reservation quota from 50 per cent to 65 per cent in government jobs and educational institutions. With the existing 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections (EWS) the percentage of reservation quota was increased to 75 per cent in the state.