MP High Court Rejects 27% OBC Quota, Upholds 14% Reservation; Orders Recruitment Against 13% Withheld Posts In 3 Months
· Free Press Journal
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Madhya Pradesh High Court's principal bench at Jabalpur on Friday rejected 27% reservation for Other Backwards Classes (OBC), upholding the existing 14% quota and fixing the overall reservation ceiling at 50% in the state.
A division bench comprising Justice Anand Pathak and Justice Vinay Sharaf passed the order while disposing of petitions challenging the increase in OBC reservation.
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Among the petitioners were MBBS students and aspirants for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Postgraduate), 2019, who had challenged the decision to increase OBC reservation to 27%.
The High Court observed that no extraordinary circumstances existed in Madhya Pradesh to justify exceeding the 50% reservation ceiling.
The court also directed recruitment agencies, including the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) and Madhya Pradesh Employees Selection Board, to complete appointments of unreserved category candidates against the 13% withheld posts within three months.
According to the order, appointments of OBC candidates made before Sept 29, 2022, will remain protected. However, appointments made after that date exceeding the 14% reservation limit will be treated as null and void to the extent of the additional 13%.
The court directed that unreserved category candidates be appointed against these posts.
The controversy dates back to 2018, when the Congress government came to power in Madhya Pradesh. Then Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced an increase in OBC reservation to 27%.
The Kamal Nath cabinet subsequently approved the proposal, following which the Governor promulgated an ordinance on March 8, 2019.
Multiple petitions were filed by both ruling and opposition sides challenging the decision. The matter subsequently reached the Supreme Court, which directed the High Court to hear the petitions collectively.
In February 2026, the Supreme Court remanded a batch of appeals concerning the 27% OBC reservation to the Madhya Pradesh High Court for adjudication.
Advocate general Prashant Singh said the High Court had dismissed all petitions concerning the 27% OBC reservation. He said the court had ruled that no extraordinary circumstances justified exceeding the 50% ceiling.
Singh further said recruitment against the withheld 13% posts would be completed within three months, while appointments made before September 2022 would remain protected.
Blurb
Appointments exceeding the 14% OBC quota after Sept 29, 2022, declared void; 13% posts to be filled from unreserved category.
4 CMs and 40% of ministers from OBC category in 20 years
Advocate Shobha Gupta, who represented an ST candidate, said the scope for an ST candidate to get a seat from the unreserved category is restricted if reservation goes from 14% to 27%.
The respondents and the state relied upon a 40-year-old report of 1983. OBCs are not socially and educationally backward based on the report. They are progressing well.
Their representation has increased from time to time. In Central government services, it was 17.74% in 2014-15, which reached 21.98% in 2022-23.
Around 40% of the ministers have been from the OBC category in the state Cabinet for 20 years. Four Chief Ministers were from the OBC category.
Therefore, they are more than adequately represented. Article 16(4) of the Constitution talks about adequate representation and not proportionate representation.
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