Karnataka High Court Strikes Down Law Raising SC/ST Reservations Beyond 50% Constitutional Ceiling

The Karnataka High Court has struck down the Karnataka SC/ST Reservation Act of 2022, ruling it unconstitutional for raising total reservations to 56% and exceeding the Supreme Court's 50% ceiling. The bench cited violations of Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution, and found that the state government failed to consult the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes before passing the law.

A state law in Karnataka that pushed combined SC and ST reservations to 56% — above the 50% ceiling established by the Supreme Court — was struck down on Monday by the High Court sitting in Bengaluru as incompatible with constitutional requirements. One procedural gap the court identified — the absence of any consultation with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes before the legislation moved forward — formed part of the basis for striking it down. The two letters the state government tendered to the court — bearing dates of 10 December 2025 and 20 January 2026 — were produced approximately three years after the Act had been enacted, and their preparation followed the point at which the legislation's constitutional validity had already been drawn into question before the high court. Where the panel's conclusion — that certain groups had remained at the periphery and drawn too little from reservation provisions — could support a case for sub-classification within the quota structure, the court determined that this reasoning did not extend far enough to justify any departure from the established overall ceiling.

Karnataka High Court Strikes Down Law Raising SC/ST Reservations Beyond 50% Constitutional Ceiling

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Karnataka High Court Strikes Down Law Raising SC/ST Reservations Beyond 50% Constitutional Ceiling

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