The Chhattisgarh High Court on Friday stayed the state government’s decision to increase the reservation for Other Backward Castes in the state from 14% to 27%, reported PTI.

In August, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had announced that the reservation for Scheduled Castes would go up from 12% to 13% while that for OBCs would increase from 14% to 27% in government jobs and education. The quota for Scheduled Tribes remained unchanged at 32%.

Later, the state government notified the Centre’s decision to implement 10% reservation for economically backward sections of the general category. Altogether, reservation in Chhattisgarh rose to 82% – the highest in the country.

Several petitions were filed in the High Court. The petitioners claimed that the reservation for OBCs had been increased on the basis of insufficient data, reported The Indian Express. The state government, however, argued that the increase in OBC reservation was proportionate to their population, which is more than 45% in the state.

After the court order, Chief Minister Baghel said his government would put their side strongly before the bench. He said the court had accepted the quota for Scheduled Castes and Economically Weaker Sections in general category. “For the OBCs, we will fight and put our case strongly before the high court,” Bhagel added.

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