Bhubaneswar, April 8: In the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent dismissal of a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Madhya Pradesh, the OBC Forum, Odisha has appealed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to implement a similar provision in the state.
The letter to the Chief Minister, signed by OBC Forum Chairman Rabi Behera, references the apex court’s decision to uphold the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s ruling, which allows the enhancement of OBC reservation from 14% to 27%. The SLP filed by the organization ‘Youth for Equality’ had contested the Congress-led Kamal Nath government’s 2019 decision to increase the quota, but the Supreme Court made it clear there is no constitutional barrier to such an implementation.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had previously quashed several petitions against the move, particularly those challenging the 87:13 reservation formula, effectively paving the way for the increased OBC quota. The formula was originally notified in March 2019 but had faced a judicial stay based on earlier Supreme Court judgments limiting total reservations to 50%.
Now, both the High Court and the Supreme Court have ruled—there’s no restriction on 27% OBC reservation.
Citing this legal precedent, the OBC Forum has demanded that Odisha align its reservation policies with constitutional provisions. "Odisha currently offers only 11.25% reservation for OBCs, which is far below what is constitutionally permitted and is unjust to the backward classe-OBCs of the state," Behera said.
The Forum has urged the state government to act promptly and ensure social justice for the OBC community by increasing the quota to 27%, in line with national standards and recent judicial clarity.
