Reservation expansion faces court setbacks in three states

State reservation measures have suffered judicial setbacks in three separate disputes: the Supreme Court rejected Tamil Nadu’s appeal over eligibility for its Muslim OBC quota, Karnataka’s High Court struck down higher SC and ST quotas, and Madhya Pradesh has challenged a ruling against its expanded OBC quota.

The Economic Times reported the developments on October 17. The cases involve distinct questions—eligibility following religious conversion in Tamil Nadu, the overall reservation ceiling in Karnataka, and an increase in the OBC share in Madhya Pradesh.

Tamil Nadu appeal rejected

On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the Madras High Court’s decision in a dispute concerning Tamil Nadu’s 3.5% reservation for Muslim Other Backward Classes. The reported ruling held that conversion from Hinduism to another religion does not, by itself, entitle a person to SC or OBC reservation.

The dispute arose from a March 2024 order issued by the then DMK government. It allowed members of OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Denotified Communities who converted to Islam to claim the Muslim OBC quota.

The Madras High Court declared that order unconstitutional in June 2024. The Supreme Court has now rejected the TVK government’s appeal.

Karnataka plans Supreme Court challenge

On Monday, the Karnataka High Court struck down a 2022 law enacted under the then BJP government that increased Scheduled Caste reservation from 15% to 17% and Scheduled Tribe reservation from 3% to 7%.

Alongside the existing 32% OBC quota, those increases took total reservation to 56%, above the 50% ceiling cited in the report. The state government plans to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

Madhya Pradesh contests OBC quota ruling

The Madhya Pradesh government has already approached the Supreme Court against a High Court ruling striking down a 2019 law. Enacted by the then Congress government, that law raised OBC reservation to 27%.