A PIL has been submitted to the Patna High Court, contesting the recent Bihar Legislature amendment that proposes to elevate the reservation quota for Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes from the current 50% to 65%.

The petition questions the constitutional validity of the Bihar Reservation (for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Back Classes) (Amendment) Act, 2023, along with the Bihar (in admission in educational institutions) Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023. Additionally, as an interim measure, the petitioner requests a stay on the enforcement of these legislations. The Bihar State Legislature passed the 2023 Acts on November 10, 2023, which obtained the Governor's Assent on November 18, 2023. Following this, the Government formally notified the acts on November 21, 2023, publishing them in the Bihar Gazette.

The petition argues that the Amendments rely on proportional reservation determined from the Caste Census carried out by the state. According to this census, the population of the Backward Classes (SC, ST, OBC, and EBC) in Bihar is calculated to be 63.13%.

Gaurav Kumar and Naman Sherstra, the petitioners, argue that Article 16(4) of the Constitution mandates reservations to ensure adequate representation of the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, rather than being based on proportional representation of these classes within a particular state.

The petition mentions, “Hence, the 2023 Act passed by the Respondent State is in violation of Article 16 (1) of the Indian Constitution which provides an equality opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State and Article 15 (1) which prohibits any kind of under the State and Article 15 (1) which prohibits any kind of discrimination.”