27% OBC reservation challenged in Supreme Court:Lawyers argued, 50% quota proportional to population; SC seeks response from MP govt within four weeks

A fresh petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Madhya Pradesh.
The petition, filed by the Madhya Pradesh OBC Advocates’ Welfare Association, demands 50 percent reservation for OBCs in proportion to their population in the state. Hearing the plea, a bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh, seeking a response within four weeks. The matter will be taken up for hearing again after that. Senior advocates Rameshwar Singh Thakur, Varun Thakur, Vinayak Prasad Shah, Hanumat Lodhi, and Ramkaran Prajapati appeared on behalf of the petitioners. OBCs should get quota like SCs and STs: Petitioners Advocate Varun Thakur, representing the petitioners, stated that the association has challenged the validity of the 1994 Reservation Act, which restricts OBCs to only 27% reservation. He argued that OBCs constitute over 50 percent of the population in Madhya Pradesh but have negligible representation in administrative positions.
The data presented to the court shows that OBC representation in Class I and II services is less than 13 percent, according to the Ambedkar Research Committee report. Thakur said the plea seeks proportionate representation for the OBC community, similar to what the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) already receive. Challenge to Section 4(2) of the 1994 Reservation Act The petition challenges the constitutional validity of Section 4(2) of the Madhya Pradesh Reservation Act, 1994, calling it inconsistent with Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Indian Constitution, which ensure equality and prohibit discrimination. According to Section 4(2), reservation in MP stands at: Citing the 2011 Census, the petitioners pointed out that SCs constitute 15.6 percent, STs 21.01 percent, and OBCs 50.01 percent of the population. Senior Advocate Rameshwar Singh Thakur argued that while SCs and STs are given reservations in proportion to their population, OBCs are capped at 27 percent, which amounts to discrimination. Supreme Court takes the matter seriously The Supreme Court has taken note of the arguments and issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government, directing it to respond within four weeks, explaining why OBCs should not be granted reservation in proportion to their population.