Supreme Court on Bihar Government Reservation Policy: The Supreme Court has given a big blow to the Bihar government. The Supreme Court has refused to stay the High Court's decision to cancel the 65 percent reservation given by the Bihar government.
The Bihar government had decided to increase the reservation for SC, ST, OBC and economically weaker sections from 50 percent to 65 percent in government jobs and educational institutions. This decision was challenged in the Patna High Court. The High Court termed the decision unconstitutional and stayed it. After this, the Bihar government challenged the decision of the High Court in the Supreme Court. While hearing this case, the Supreme Court refused to stay the decision of the High Court. The court will hear this case in detail in September.
The Bihar government passed a law on 9 November 2023 to increase the quota in government jobs and educational institutions from 50 percent to 65 percent. This decision was taken after the caste census announced by the Bihar government last year. Under this, OBCs, extremely backward classes, Dalits and tribals were to get the benefit of reservation.
The government says that if this decision is not stopped then the recruitment process will be affected. The petition states that the High Court's conclusion that there was adequate representation of backward classes based on the caste survey data is a violation of the state's discretion.