Bengaluru, 14 November

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers Amit Shah Virendra Kumar to initiate a constitutional amendment to include the State’s 2022 law enhancing reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, seeking protection for the increased quotas of 17 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.

They argued that deserved the same constitutional consideration extended to Tamil Nadu’s 69 per cent reservation framework.

Karnataka noted that for nearly seven decades, reservation percentages for the two communities remained unchanged despite an increase in their population, additional castes and tribes being granted reservation, and the continuing social and educational disadvantage for many communities. They noted that in the most recent Census, the SC population was comprised 17.15 per cent of Karnataka’s population, and the ST population 6.95 per cent. 

But the Karnataka High Court, in its 12 October judgment, struck down the provisions enhancing SC reservation from 15 to 17 per cent and ST reservation from 3 to 7 per cent, holding that the resulting aggregate reservation of 56 per cent exceeded the prevailing 50 per cent ceiling. The court also examined the requirement of consultation with the National Commissions for SCs and STs.

Karnataka has challenged this in the Supreme Court. 

Parameshwara and Shivakumar noted that reservation had been hiked in Karnataka based on the recommendations of a commission headed by retired Karnataka High Court judge HN Nagamohan Das.

The Nagamohan Das Commission recommended increasing their quotas to 17 per cent and 7 per cent and suggested placing the legislation in the Ninth Schedule to secure constitutional protection.

“If Parliament could act to protect a reservation framework of 69 per cent in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka’s considered request for 56 per cent reservation, founded upon the recommendations of a judicial commission, deserves no less constitutional attention,” they wrote in the separate letters.

Reservation was hiked after debate in Karnataka’s legislature and the Governor had also given assent to it. 

They noted that former chief minister Siddaramaiah had also written to Modi about the issue.