Constable turns laborer, teacher struggles with survival in MP:18,000 Madhya Pradesh candidates await clarity; OBC reservation legal battle keeps appointments on hold

Across Madhya Pradesh, thousands of young people who once celebrated their success in clearing the government job exams now find themselves trapped in uncertainty. Nearly 18,000 selected candidates—teachers, police constables, and administrative recruits—are waiting for appointment letters that never arrived. The reason lies in a complex legal tangle surrounding the OBC reservation policy and the state’s controversial 87:13 recruitment formula. For these candidates, the delay is not just procedural—it’s personal. Many are working as daily laborers, factory hands, or private tutors to survive. Others are sinking into depression, watching their years of hard work and dreams fade under the weight of bureaucracy and legal disputes. The Supreme Court showdown The Supreme Court is set to begin regular hearings on October 8 to decide whether Madhya Pradesh’s decision to increase OBC reservation from 14% to 27% is constitutionally valid. The ruling will determine whether these 18,000 candidates—whose appointments are currently on hold—will finally get their jobs. Until then, their lives remain in suspension. “We studied for years, passed every exam, and got selected. Yet, we are being punished for something beyond our control,” says one of the affected candidates. Four stories that define the human cost of policy paralysis 1. Harion Dangi: A teacher’s dream deferred Harion Dangi from a small village in Rajgarh district had every reason to believe he had made it. Selected as a teacher in 2023, his district and school allotment were finalized, and his joining letter was expected any day.
“I even booked a train ticket to Sidhi,” Harion recalls. “But the letter never came. Days turned into months, and nothing happened.” Today, he lives in a cramped 10×12-foot room in Bhopal’s Nehru Nagar. His father, a farmer with 10 bighas of land, has faced crop failures for two consecutive years. “Sometimes I do odd jobs to pay rent, sometimes I borrow from friends. My parents keep asking when I’ll start earning properly. I don’t know what to tell them,” he says quietly. 2. Saurabh Rana: When a job delay broke an engagement For Saurabh Rana of Seoni district, the delay has had emotional as well as social repercussions. “I was selected as a teacher, and even the school choice process was done,” he says. “But without an appointment letter, my marriage got canceled. The girl’s family thought we lied about having a government job.” Saurabh now teaches in a private school for ₹4,000 a month. “It barely covers my expenses. My parents are aging, and I can’t help them financially. Every day feels like a reminder of what I’ve lost.” 3. Rakesh Kushwaha: The constable who became a laborer Rakesh Kushwaha, a resident of a village near Bhopal, dreamed of joining the police force. Scoring 153 marks, he was sure of his selection. “The candidate with 152 marks got the job,” he says. “But my name was withheld because of the 13% hold under the 87:13 rule.” Now, instead of wearing a khaki uniform, Rakesh spends his days carrying iron parts in a Mandideep factory, 20 km from Bhopal. “I leave for work at 5 a.m. and return exhausted by evening. There’s no time or energy left to study again. Sometimes, I feel both my hope and courage are slipping away,” he admits. 4. Vikas Yadav: Isolation and depression after losing hope Vikas Yadav’s story is perhaps the most distressing. After years of preparation, he cleared the Taxation Assistant recruitment exam—only to find his result among the 13% held in abeyance.
“This isn’t the first time,” Vikas says. “I was also held in the constable recruitment. When I finally cleared MPPSC, I thought my life was set. But here I am, unemployed again.” Now, he rarely leaves his room. “I’ve stopped going out or meeting friends. Every day I wake up with a feeling of emptiness. It’s like my life is on pause,” he says, his voice breaking. How the 87:13 formula came into play Before 2019, Madhya Pradesh followed a reservation structure of 14% for OBCs, 20% for Scheduled Tribes, and 16% for Scheduled Castes, maintaining the Supreme Court-mandated 50% cap. In 2019, the then Kamal Nath government increased OBC reservation to 27%, taking total reservations to 63%. The Madhya Pradesh High Court intervened, citing the Supreme Court’s ceiling limit, and stayed the increased quota. With recruitment stalled and government vacancies piling up, the General Administration Department devised the 87:13 formula in 2022. Under it, only 87% of vacancies were to be filled (with 14% OBC quota), while 13% of OBC-reserved seats were kept “on hold” until the court’s final verdict. This “temporary solution” has now turned into a long wait—with 13% of posts frozen and lives put on hold. What happened in the Supreme Court so far The matter was last listed on September 24, when the Madhya Pradesh government submitted over 15,000 pages of documents in defense of the 27% OBC quota. Lawyers representing the general category requested more time to review the materials, prompting a rebuke from the bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Augustine George Masih. “We are ready to hear the case, but you are not. You keep asking for interim relief without being prepared for arguments. You are not serious about this case,” the judges remarked before adjourning the hearing to October 8. What lies ahead According to Advocate Rameshwar Singh, “There are two possible outcomes. If the Supreme Court upholds the 27% OBC reservation, the 13% hold category candidates will get their jobs. If it limits OBC quota to 14%, appointments will be made purely on merit, irrespective of category. Either way, the court’s decision will finally bring closure.”