Karnataka Seeks Ninth Schedule Protection for Hiked SC and ST Quotas

The Karnataka government has officially asked the central government to place its new reservation law under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. This step aims to protect the law from any court challenges. The state cabinet decided to send this proposal back in February.

Details

Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma wrote to the Union Home Secretary regarding this request. The law is formally called The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act of 2022. It raises the quota for Scheduled Castes from 15 percent to 17 percent. It also raises the quota for Scheduled Tribes from 3 percent to 7 percent. The state legislature passed this act during its winter session in Belagavi last December.

Reactions

Political opposition from the Congress party earlier criticized the government. They attacked authorities for not adding the law to the Ninth Schedule sooner to save it from legal reviews. They called the earlier move an eyewash to win SC and ST votes before the assembly polls. The state pushed this current request forward just days before the election schedule was announced.

Context

The Ninth Schedule of the Indian Constitution is a special list of central and state laws that are kept safe from judicial review. Laws placed inside it generally cannot be challenged in court for violating fundamental rights. State governments often seek this protection when they pass major reservation laws that push total quotas beyond normal legal limits.