SC/ST voices condemn Karnataka Hight Court verdict striking down enhanced reservation

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.

“The BJP took pride in its double-engine sarkar, and the Union government brought in the constitutional amendment providing 10% EWS reservation. Why, then, did they not do this? It shows how anti-Dalit they are,” Mr. Kowthal criticised.

He also criticised the Congress government, saying that while previous Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had written to the Union government seeking the inclusion of the law in the Ninth Schedule, the government should have exerted more pressure on the Union government.  

Grave injustice

V.S. Ugrappa, former MP and Congress leader, pointed out that the 2011 Census puts the SC population in Karnataka at around 17.1% and the ST population at 7%. “Both the reports of Justice Nagmohan Das and Justice Subhash B. Adi have indicated that SCs, STs and OBCs are inadequately represented in employment and education. None of these aspects has been considered by the court,” he said. 

“There are only two possible remedies for a permanent solution. First, the law must be included in the Ninth Schedule, as was done in Tamil Nadu. Second, the Karnataka government must challenge the order by filing a special leave petition before the Supreme Court,” he said.

Joint effort

D. Chandraiah from The Karnataka State SC/ST Employees’ Association said that legal experts, senior advocates, and the government are being consulted to ensure that a unified, strong legal challenge is mounted in the Supreme Court against the HC verdict.

According to him, the association will implead itself as a party/litigant in the Supreme Court proceedings. The association will also submit a joint memorandum on Thursday to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on backlog vacancies. 

“The 10% EWS did not violate the 50% cap, but adding a 6% hike for SC and ST was deemed a violation by the court. This is inconsistent,” he said.  

Mr. Chandraiah criticised the government for failing to convince the High Court using available empirical data regarding the backwardness of SC/ST communities across key sectors, including education, healthcare, land ownership, industry, commerce, and so on. He added that the court also failed to adequately consider whether the report findings constituted the “extraordinary circumstances” under which reservation could exceed 50%.