Patna High Court strikes down Bihar's quota hike from 50 to 65%

Patna: The Patna High Court on Thursday struck down the increase in reservations effected in Bihar last year when quotas were raised from 50 to 65 per cent for Dalits, backward classes and tribals in government jobs and educational institutions.

A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order on a bunch of petitions which had opposed the legislations brought by the Nitish Kumar government in November 2023.

Ritika Rani, one of the counsels appearing for the petitioners, said, "We had submitted that the amendments to the reservation laws were violative of the Constitution".

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

The Nitish Kumar government on November 21 last year issued gazette notifications for raising the quota for deprived castes from 50 to 65 per cent in state government jobs and educational institutions.