Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Monday that his government remains firmly retaining 27% of other backward classes (OBCs) (in government services).
Mr Yadav’s statement came after a recent Supreme Court decision, clarifying that there are no judicial restrictions on the implementation of enhanced OBC quotas in Madhya Pradesh.
The chief minister said his government would also consult on the matter in addition to studying the recommendations of the OBC committee.
He added that, the state government will discuss with petitioners who have moved out of the court on this issue.
A Supreme Court last two weeks rejected a plea, challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court order to allow the state’s OBC quota of 27%.
In March 2019, the 27% reservation quota outbreak broke out when the previous Kamal Nath government raised OBC quota from 14% to 27% in the state.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court later retained an enhanced quota for the OBC with 50% reservation ceiling.
Some government recruitment procedures were stopped after the High Court’s quota increase in 2019.
The High Court filed approximately 70 related petitions.
In 2022, the state introduced the 87:13 formula, according to which 13% of the positions were not filled out until the case related to the cases pending the court was handled.
The government’s actions were challenged in the High Court.
On January 28 this year, the High Court rejected a petition challenging the state government’s 87:13 formula.
On February 13 this year, the state government relocated the Supreme Court to demand an early hearing on the OBC quota.
Sources said the state government hopes to study the legal implications of implementing a 27% quota on OBC before making a final decision on this.
Prior to 2019, Madhya Pradesh had OBC bookings of 14%, ST was 20%, and SC had a total of 16%.
The enhanced OBC quota has increased the total booking to 63%, violating the 50% quota cap.
