The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed that all petitions concerning the 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the state will be heard on a regular basis for three consecutive days starting April 27.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf issued the directive on Thursday, emphasizing the need for an expedited resolution. The court has ordered all parties to submit relevant documents at least three days prior to the commencement of the hearing and mandated the presence of all legal counsel involved in the case.
The legal battle over the OBC quota involves a series of petitions filed both in support of and against the 27 percent reservation. During the preliminary stages of the litigation, the High Court had stayed the implementation of the quota. This led the state government and other stakeholders to approach the Supreme Court via Special Leave Petitions (SLPs).
The Supreme Court subsequently remanded the matter back to the High Court for a final decision. During Thursday’s proceedings, Senior Advocate Aditya Sanghi, representing the petitioners challenging the reservation, informed the bench that the apex court had instructed a resolution within a three-month timeframe. He noted that one and a half months of that period have already elapsed.
Furthermore, Senior Advocate Rameshwar Singh, appearing for the state government, clarified a procedural anomaly involving two SLPs. He informed the bench that the Supreme Court had recalled two petitions which pertained to Chhattisgarh but were mistakenly forwarded to the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The petitions challenging the 27 percent reservation rely heavily on the landmark Indira Sawhney and Maratha reservation judgments. The petitioners argue that the Supreme Court has established a clear legal ceiling, stating that total reservations should not exceed the 50 percent threshold.
In contrast, those appearing in favor of the OBC quota contend that the reservation should be determined in proportion to the community’s actual population within the state to ensure equitable representation.
Following the consensus of Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj and Advocate General Prashant Singh, the division bench scheduled the regular hearings to begin at 12:30 PM on April 27. The court indicated that the three-day window for these hearings could be extended if the complexity of the arguments necessitates further time.
