MP HC quashes 27% OBC quota, restores 14% cap

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has struck down the State law that increased reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 14 per cent to 27 per cent, ruling the 2019 legislation unconstitutional and restoring the earlier quota. The verdict also clears the way for recruitment agencies to fill posts that had remained pending because of the legal dispute.

A division bench of Justices Anand Pathak and Vinay Saraf, in its 159-page order delivered on Friday, directed the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission, the Employees Selection Board and other recruitment agencies to complete the process of filling the 13 per cent of posts kept on hold within three months. These posts are to be filled from the unreserved category.

Advocate General Prashant Singh, representing the State Government, said the court had examined the relevant documents, data and tables before reaching its decision. He clarified that the dispute concerned the increase in OBC reservation in Government jobs and educational institutions, rather than reservation for backward communities as a principle.

According to Singh, the court found that the State had not established exceptional circumstances to justify exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling on reservations. The bench considered the Supreme Court’s judgments in the Indra Sawhney and Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil cases while examining the matter.

The reservation increase was introduced by the Congress Government led by Kamal Nath, which assumed office in December 2018. An ordinance issued on March 8, 2019, raised the OBC quota from 14 per cent to 27 per cent, and the measure was enacted into law on August 14 that year.

The legislation was challenged in the High Court, with the matter subsequently reaching the Supreme Court before being remitted to the High Court for a joint hearing of connected petitions. The final hearing concluded on August 5, 2026, and the bench reserved its verdict.

The ruling drew strong reactions from the Congress and OBC organisations. State Congress president Jitu Patwari accused the BJP Government led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav of working against OBC interests and announced that the party would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.

The OBC Mahasabha also announced plans to approach the top court. Lokendra Gurjar, a member of its national core committee and one of the petitioners, said the organisation would launch a Statewide agitation to protect OBC reservation rights.

Former Madhya Pradesh State Backward Classes Commission chairman JP Dhanopia blamed the state Government for the outcome, alleging that it had failed to present the case effectively.

With the High Court invalidating the 2019 law, the OBC quota stands at 14 per cent, while the 13 per cent of posts held pending are to be filled within three months.