Why in News? Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently said that his party will remove the 50% cap on reservation (so that it can be increased further) in the interest of the people, if voted to power at the Centre.

What is the Present Condition on Reservation? Reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in legislatures, higher education and public employment cannot exceed 50% of the total seats. This limit has been in place since a SC judgement in 1992. However, some states, the Union government and the SC itself have occasionally breached it over the years.

What was the SC’s 1992 Judgement? In the Indra Sawhney vs UoI/ Mandal judgement, a 9-judge Constitution bench of the SC (by a 6-3 majority) ruled that the total quota must never exceed 50%, calling this limit fair and reasonable without giving any justification. The court had added that the 50% reservations rule may be deviated from in certain extraordinary situations. In spite of the SC’s judgement, there are multiple states (most notable is Tamil Nadu, where the reservation is 69%) where the total reservation quota exceeds 50%.

What are the SC’s Observations in Different Cases?

1. Maratha reservation: It was struck down by the SC in 2021 for violating the 50% ceiling (it resulted in the increasing of the total reservations in the state to 68%) established in its 1992 judgement.
2. EWS reservation: A five-judge Constitution bench of the court upheld the quota last year by a 3:2 majority, stating that the 50% ceiling is flexible and it was only in the context of reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs.