Bengaluru, Oct. 12 -- In a significant setback to Karnataka's reservation policy, the High Court has quashed the state's decision to raise the reservation quota for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to 17 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S. Hemalekha passed the order while considering a public interest litigation filed by Mahendra Kumar Mitra. The petitioner had challenged the law providing enhanced reservation in educational institutions and state government services under the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation) Act, 2022.

The government's decision had increased the combined reservation for SCs and STs from 18 per cent to 24 per cent, taking...