The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday struck down the state government's decision to increase Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation from 14% to 27%, holding that the state had failed to establish exceptional circumstances warranting a breach of the 50% reservation ceiling.
In a 159-page judgment delivered after seven years of litigation, 15 days of hearings and nearly 30 hours of arguments, a division bench of Justices Anand Pathak and Vinay Saraf directed recruitment agencies to fill the 13% of posts withheld under the state's recruitment arrangement from unreserved-category candidates within three months.
The court, however, protected OBC candidates appointed against the enhanced quota between March 2019 and September 29, 2022, ruling that they would not lose their jobs. The posts occupied by these candidates will be adjusted or subsumed over the next three recruitment drives.
Appointments made after September 29, 2022, against the additional OBC quota exceeding the earlier 14% limit will not receive the same protection, the court held.
The enhanced reservation was introduced through an ordinance by the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in 2019 and subsequently defended by successive BJP governments. The increase took the combined reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in Madhya Pradesh to 63%.
"This case is not about grant of reservation but extent of reservation," the bench observed.
"OBCs are certainly entitled to get reservation to the extent of 14%. However, the case is not made out for increasing the reservation from 14% to 27%," it said.
Relying on the Supreme Court's judgments in Indra Sawhney and Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil, the High Court held that the state had not demonstrated any extraordinary circumstances or emergent situation to justify exceeding the 50% reservation ceiling.
The bench examined data relating to higher education and public employment and concluded that OBCs were adequately represented for the purposes of Article 16(4) of the Constitution. It accordingly held that OBC reservation in public services and higher education would remain at 14%.
The court also criticised the manner in which the enhanced quota was introduced, referring to "undue haste and ill-preparedness". It observed that the National Commission for Backward Classes ought to have been consulted on whether exceptional circumstances justified exceeding the prescribed ceiling.
One of the most consequential directions concerns the state's recruitment arrangement commonly referred to as the "87:13" formula.
Under a General Administration Department order dated September 29, 2022, recruitment proceeded against 87% of the posts, while the remaining 13% were kept pending. Separate lists of OBC and unreserved-category candidates for these posts were maintained until the outcome of the litigation.
The High Court has now directed the authorities to fill the withheld posts from the unreserved-category lists.
"All Recruitment Agencies ... shall do the needful for giving appointments to 13% unreserved category candidates within three months as an outer limit," the bench ordered.
The direction applies to the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission, the Employees Selection Board and other recruitment agencies.
The dispute originated in March 2019, when the Congress government issued an ordinance increasing OBC reservation to 27%. A subsequent amendment to the Madhya Pradesh Reservation Act, 1994, provided statutory backing to the enhanced quota, but the measure faced legal challenges.
The litigation continued after the Kamal Nath government fell in March 2020 and remained unresolved under the subsequent BJP governments led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Mohan Yadav.
In August 2025, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav convened an all-party meeting that adopted a unanimous resolution supporting 27% OBC reservation. He also discussed the government's position with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
Last month, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to Yadav seeking implementation of the enhanced quota and resolution of the pending recruitment appointments.
The High Court's judgment has now placed this political consensus at odds with its finding that the increase lacked sufficient constitutional justification.
Following the judgment, Lokendra Gurjar, a petitioner and member of the OBC Mahasabha's national core committee, said the organisation would challenge the decision before the Supreme Court. He also announced plans for a statewide agitation to demand the community's rights.
Former Madhya Pradesh State Backward Classes Commission chairman JP Dhanopia accused the state government of acting with mala fide intent. He alleged that despite the Chief Minister belonging to the OBC community, the government had failed to place the relevant facts effectively before the court.
Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath also criticised the BJP, alleging that its "anti-OBC face" had been exposed.
Kamal Nath said the Congress government had introduced 27% OBC reservation in 2019, arguing that the measure was consistent with practices followed in other states. He accused successive BJP governments of undermining the enhanced quota and alleged that the state had presented a weak case before the court.
"By presenting a weak case in court, the BJP has effectively stabbed the OBC community in the back," the former Chief Minister alleged.
He further accused the BJP of allowing the enhanced quota to be struck down through litigation rather than withdrawing it directly, warning that the Congress would continue its fight for 27% OBC reservation.
Cabinet Minister Prahlad Patel rejected the Congress's allegations, describing reservation for backward classes as an important and sensitive issue.
Patel blamed the Kamal Nath government for introducing the enhanced quota in haste for political gains, arguing that the ordinance had failed because of constitutional flaws.
"The Congress does not champion the interests of any specific section of society it acts solely for its own self-interest," Patel said.
He added that the efforts initiated by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav through the all-party meeting to secure 27% OBC reservation would continue.
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