Karnataka moves Supreme Court to restore enhanced SC/ST quota struck down by HC

The Karnataka government has approached the Supreme Court challenging a High Court verdict that struck down the enhanced reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). The state is seeking to restore the enhanced reservation, which took the total reservation in Karnataka from 50% to 56%.

The government filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Karnataka High Court’s October 12 judgement, which held the enhancement to be constitutionally impermissible. A Government Order dated October 27 approved the move, following a Cabinet decision on October 15, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday, November 11.

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, increased the quota for SC from 15% to 17% and from 3% to 7% for ST. The 32% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) remained unchanged, taking the total to 56%.

The legislation was enacted by the former BJP government following recommendations from a commission headed by retired judge HN Nagamohan Das. The High Court struck down Sections 3 and 4 of the Act, holding that the state had not met mandatory requirements for consultation with the National Commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It said letters sent to the commissions after the law was enacted did not fulfil this requirement.

The Congress government has accused the previous BJP regime of failing to secure constitutional protection for the enhanced quota by including it in the Ninth Schedule. The Nagamohan Das Commission had recommended such protection, and then Law minister JC Madhuswamy had publicly said in October 2022 that the move would be taken forward, the state government said.

Instead, the BJP government promulgated an ordinance and subsequently passed the legislation ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress government alleged. It pointed out that on March 21, 2023, then Union minister of state for Social Justice and Empowerment A Narayanaswamy had told Parliament that the Union government had not received a proposal from Karnataka on Ninth Schedule inclusion. The state sent its proposal seven weeks before the Assembly elections, according to the government.

The Congress government also criticised the Union government for not acting on the matter despite BJP-led governments being in power at both the Union and in Karnataka when the enhanced quota was introduced. It said that on July 25, 2026, the Union government informed Parliament that its decision on the request would be deferred as the matter was pending before the High Court. The state also pointed to Karnataka having five Union ministers and 19 BJP and JD(S) MPs in the Lok Sabha, but said no constitutional amendment had been introduced.

The Congress government said it had continued to take steps to protect the enhanced reservation. The Karnataka Assembly passed a resolution on December 18, 2025, urging the Union government to include the 56% quota in the Ninth Schedule.

In February 2026, when the government approved recruitment to 56,432 posts, it kept an additional 6% of posts meant for SC and ST candidates in a backlog category pending the court’s decision. The government also cited the implementation of internal reservation among SC communities as another measure to ensure that benefits reach the most disadvantaged groups.