Reservation cannot be proportionate to population of castes, says Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has struck down a state law that increased reservation quotas for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The court ruled that the Constitution mandates adequate representation rather than proportionate representation based on population.
Why it matters
This ruling clarifies the legal interpretation of affirmative action in India, preventing the breach of the 50% reservation ceiling and setting a precedent for future quota-based policies.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday said that the Constitution mandates “adequate representation”, not “proportionate representation”, while observing that “the fundamental premise that reservation for backward classes must be in proportion to their population is erroneous.”
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S. Hemalekha made these observations in its judgment striking down the law that had increased reservation from 15% to 17% for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and from 3% to 7% for Scheduled Tribes (STs), resulting in a breach of the 50% ceiling on total reservations for SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes.
The State government had argued that the increase in reservation for SCs and STs was justified as their population had grown to 24.1% while reservation remained static at 18%.
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