SC refuses to stay Patna HC's order scrapping Bihar's 65% quota

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to pause Patna High Court's order, which had scrapped the 65 percent quota for backward classes in Bihar. The Bihar government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the high court's order to scrap the government's decision to increase the reservations from 50 percent to 65 percent. The Supreme Court said that the matter will be taken up for a detailed hearing in September.

A division bench of the Patna High Court had on June 20 struck down the amendments passed by the Bihar Assembly in 2023, saying that they are beyond the powers of the constitution and violate the equality clause under Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution.

After that, the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government moved the Supreme Court against the high court's order on July 2. Notably, the Bihar Assembly had passed the Reservation Amendment Bill in November 2023. The bill was passed in the state assembly without Nitish Kumar’s presence.

The amended reservation quota included 20 percent for Scheduled Castes, 2 percent for Scheduled Tribes, 43 percent for Other Backward Classes, and Extremely Backward Classes. When combined with the 10 percent quota for the Ecomonic Weaker Section, the reservation was pushed up to 75 percent against the 50 percent ceiling set by the Supreme Court.