Archive · 10 Oct 2026
Madhya Pradesh High Court Upholds 14% OBC Quota
Some people asked the Madhya Pradesh High Court to increase the share of reserved places for OBC candidates from 14% to 27%.
The court rejected those requests and kept the quota at 14%.
It said the state had not shown enough evidence to support the larger share, and that there were no special circumstances to go above the 50% reservation ceiling.
Some appointments had been held up while the dispute was considered.
The court ordered recruitment agencies to fill posts equal to 13% of positions within three months.
Those posts must go to candidates in the unreserved category.
OBC appointments made before September 29, 2022, will remain protected.
Later appointments above the 14% limit are void only to the extent of the extra 13%.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected petitions seeking to raise OBC reservation from 14% to 27%, retaining the 14% quota.
The court said no extraordinary circumstances justified exceeding the 50% overall reservation ceiling, and the state had not provided sufficient evidence for the increase.
Recruitment agencies were ordered to fill posts representing the withheld 13% within three months with unreserved-category candidates.
OBC appointments made before September 29, 2022, remain protected; later appointments above the 14% limit are void to the extent of the additional 13%.
The dispute followed a 2018 proposal to increase OBC reservation, which was approved by the state cabinet and promulgated by ordinance in 2019.
- Who
- The Madhya Pradesh High Court, petitioners including MBBS students and NEET-PG 2019 aspirants, the state government, and recruitment agencies.
- What
- The court rejected the request to raise OBC reservation from 14% to 27%, upheld a 50% overall ceiling, and ordered recruitment for withheld posts.
- When
- The ruling was reported on a Friday; the article does not provide its calendar date. Recruitment must be completed within three months. The order protects appointments made before September 29, 2022.
- Where
- Madhya Pradesh, India; the principal bench is at Jabalpur.
- Why
- The court found no extraordinary circumstances to exceed the 50% ceiling and said the increase was not supported by sufficient data and evidence.
Petitioners and arguments against the increase
State position and court ruling
Raising OBC reservation
Petitioners and arguments against the increase
Petitioners challenged the increase from 14% to 27%; an advocate representing an ST candidate argued that a higher OBC quota could restrict ST candidates’ opportunity to obtain unreserved seats.
State position and court ruling
The court rejected the petitions, retained the 14% quota, and found no extraordinary circumstances to exceed the 50% ceiling. It said the increase lacked sufficient supporting data and evidence.
Appointments to withheld posts
Petitioners and arguments against the increase
The articles describe the posts as having been held up during the dispute but do not report a competing proposed method of filling them.
State position and court ruling
The court directed recruitment agencies to fill the posts representing 13% of positions with unreserved-category candidates within three months.
- OBC reservation upheld
- 14%
- Proposed OBC reservation
- 27%
- Overall reservation ceiling
- 50%
- Posts withheld
- 13% of positions
- Recruitment deadline
- Within three months
- Appointments protected
- OBC appointments made before September 29, 2022
- Later appointments above the limit
- Void to the extent of the additional 13%
- 2019 ordinance
- The Governor promulgated an ordinance on March 8, 2019, after the state cabinet approved the proposal.
