Supreme Court Sends Madhya Pradesh’s 27% OBC Reservation Case Back to Jabalpur High Court, Sets Three-Month Deadline
The Supreme Court of India directed the Madhya Pradesh High Court to decide the long-pending dispute over the state’s 27% Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation within three months. The order, passed on February 19, 2026, returned the connected petitions to the High Court for a comprehensive hearing and final decision.
A bench comprising Justices P. S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe asked the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court to constitute a special bench to hear the cases. The Supreme Court considered the state High Court better placed to examine the connected legal challenges and resolve the dispute.
The controversy dates back to 2019, when the then Congress-led government under Chief Minister Kamal Nath increased the OBC reservation quota in Madhya Pradesh from 14% to 27%. The decision was introduced to expand representation for OBC communities in government employment and related areas.
The revised quota was challenged before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, with petitioners arguing that the increase violated the established 50% ceiling on total reservations. The High Court subsequently stayed the implementation of the enhanced quota, leaving the legality of the 27% provision unresolved for several years.
The dispute has significant implications for recruitment to government posts and reservation-related decisions in the state. While the legal proceedings remained pending, recruitment authorities adopted arrangements under which results were declared for 87% of vacancies, while the remaining 13% were kept on hold pending clarity over the additional OBC reservation.
Under the existing reservation framework reported at the time, Madhya Pradesh provided 16% reservation for Scheduled Castes, 20% for Scheduled Tribes and 14% for OBCs, alongside a separate provision for Economically Weaker Sections. The proposed increase would raise the OBC share by 13 percentage points, making the constitutional validity of the overall arrangement a central issue in the litigation.
The Supreme Court’s direction did not itself approve or reject the 27% OBC quota. Instead, it required the Madhya Pradesh High Court to examine the pending challenges and deliver a decision within the specified three-month period. The final outcome would determine the legal position of the enhanced quota and its implications for affected recruitment processes.
UPDATE — OCTOBER 2026: The Madhya Pradesh High Court subsequently delivered its verdict on October 9, 2026, striking down the 2019 measure that increased OBC reservation to 27% and restoring the 14% quota. The court also directed recruitment agencies to fill the 13% of vacancies that had been held back within three months, from the unreserved category. The ruling may face a further challenge before the Supreme Court, keeping the issue significant for candidates, government recruitment and the state’s reservation policy.
