In a major setback to the Bihar government, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Patna High Court order that struck down the state’s amended reservation laws, which had allowed the Nitish Kumar administration to increase quotas for Dalits, tribals and backward classes from 50% to 65%.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra agreed to hear up to 10 petitions filed by the Bihar government challenging a Patna High Court verdict.
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When the matter was presented, the Supreme Court bench decided to grant leave to appeal in Bihar’s special leave petition. Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, representing the State of Bihar, requested a stay on the High Court’s judgment. Divan argued that the Supreme Court had previously issued an interim order in a similar case involving Chhattisgarh.
Despite this, the bench declined to grant interim relief and scheduled the case for a hearing. Divan sought to persuade the bench for interim relief and requested the issuance of notice on the interlocutory applications. He contended that if notice was issued, it would allow the court to consider the issue more thoroughly at a later stage, potentially by a larger bench.
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However, Chief Justice Chandrachud maintained that interim relief would not be granted at this time. When the bench confirmed that interim relief was denied, Divan asked for clarification that the relief was denied only at this stage. The bench agreed to this, and Chief Justice Chandrachud stated in the order, “No interim relief at the present stage is granted,” scheduling the case for September.
In its June 20 verdict, the Patna High Court ruled that amendments passed unanimously by Bihar’s legislature in November were “ultra vires” of the Constitution, “bad in law,” and “violative of the equality clause.”