Big Blow To Nitish Kumar As Patna High Court Strikes Down Bihar`s 65% Caste Based Quota

A division bench led by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran issued an order and scrapped the 65% caste based quota for backward classes, EBCs, SCs, and STs.

The Patna High Court abolished the 65% reservation for backward classes, EBCs, SCs, and STs on Thursday. A division bench led by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran issued an order on several writ petitions contesting the constitutional validity of the laws introduced by the Nitish Kumar-led government in November 2023.  

Ritika Rani, one of the counsels appearing for the petitioners, stated that they had argued that the amendments to the reservation laws violated the Constitution.  

"After hearing both sides, the court reserved its judgement for March. Today the final order has come, and our petitions have been  allowed," she told PTI-Bhasha.  

According to a report from news agency ANI, the Court declared the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (Amendment) Act, 2023, and the Bihar (In Admission in Educational Institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, as unconstitutional and in violation of the equality provisions under Articles 14, 15, and 16.  

The Nitish government officially passed two laws based on the caste survey findings of 2023. These laws increase the number of reserved spots (jobs and seats in schools and colleges) for certain groups like SC, ST, EBC, OBC, and now EWS from 50% to 65%.