50% ceiling on reservation

In one line: The Supreme Court has treated 50% as the normal upper limit on reservation, a rule associated with Indra Sawhney (1992) and applied to local bodies through the triple test.

Where it comes from

The Constitution itself does not state a 50% figure. The limit comes from judicial reasoning that reservation is an exception to equality and must not swallow the rule. In Indra Sawhney (1992) a nine-judge Bench held that reservation should normally not exceed 50%, save in extraordinary situations. Gawali (2021) wrote the limit into the test for local bodies.

Pressure on the ceiling

States facing demands from numerically large backward groups often push past 50%. Courts have usually struck such quotas down unless backed by strong data and exceptional circumstances. The Andhra Pradesh orders are the latest example.

Where to go next

• Vikas Kishanrao Gawali v. State of Maharashtra
• Articles 243D(6) and 243T(6)