SC/ST voices condemn Karnataka Hight Court verdict striking down enhanced reservation
SC/ST advocacy groups in Karnataka are protesting a High Court verdict that struck down enhanced reservation quotas for their communities. Critics argue that the government failed to secure the law by adding it to the Ninth Schedule, leaving it vulnerable to judicial intervention.
Why it matters
Reservation policies are a central and highly sensitive issue in Indian social justice and electoral politics.
Various individuals and organisations representing Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities in the State expressed deep disappointment with the Karnataka High Court verdict that struck down the enhanced reservation.
Basavaraj Kowthal, convener of Forum for Justice for Scheduled Castes, criticised that it is unfair to sacrifice the share of SC/ST communities in reservation to maintain a 50% ceiling. “Because of political equations, OBCs have been given 32%. It could be reduced to 27% and the SC/ST share could be increased to 24%,” he suggested.
The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 2022, was introduced by the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in the State in 2023. However, the law was not added by the Central Government to the Ninth Schedule, which would have provided it some shielding from being challenged in courts.
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