In a move claiming to advance social equity, the Telangana Legislative Assembly, under the leadership of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, passed two landmark bills in March 2025 to increase reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) from 25% to 42% in education, government jobs, and local body elections.
This ambitious policy, rooted in the Congress party’s pre-election ‘Kamareddy Declaration’ of 2023, aims to address historical inequities faced by BCs, who constitute 56.33% of the state’s population according to a comprehensive caste census conducted in 2024.
However, the proposal, which pushes the total reservation quota to 62%, faces significant legal and political challenges due to the Supreme Court’s 50% reservation cap, sparking debates on its feasibility and implications.
Background
The Telangana government’s decision stems from a socio-economic, educational, employment, and political (SEEPC) caste survey initiated in February 2024, one of the first such comprehensive exercises in India since Bihar’s 2023 caste census.
Conducted under the supervision of the State Planning Department and a dedicated BC Commission led by retired IAS officer Busani Venkateshwara Rao, the survey revealed that BCs, including Muslim caste groups, form a majority of Telangana’s population.
The findings prompted the government to propose a 42% BC quota, alongside 18% for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 10% for Scheduled Tribes (STs), up from the existing 29%, 15%, and 6%, respectively.
The bills – Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services Under the State) Bill, 2025, and the Telangana Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill, 2025, were passed unanimously with support from opposition parties, including BRS, BJP, AIMIM, and CPI.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has framed the move as a fulfillment of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s vision for social justice, articulated during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and a step toward empowering marginalized communities through evidence-based policy.
Implications of the BC Reservations
The proposed 42% BC reservation holds profound implications for Telangana’s socio-political landscape.
The policy aims to uplift BCs, who have historically faced educational and economic disadvantages, by ensuring greater representation in government jobs, educational institutions, and local governance. The caste survey’s finding that BCs constitute over half the state’s population lends weight to the argument for proportional representation.
The unanimous support from opposition parties reflects the policy’s political appeal, particularly ahead of local body elections mandated by the Telangana High Court to be held by September 30, 2025. The reservation could strengthen the Congress government’s support among BC voters, a crucial demographic.
Telangana’s caste census-based approach could set a model for other states, reigniting the debate on nationwide caste enumeration. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have hailed the move as a blueprint for social justice, advocating for a national caste census.
Challenges ahead
However, the policy’s breach of the Supreme Court’s 50% reservation ceiling, established in the landmark Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) case, introduces significant risks.
The total quota of 62% (42% BC, 18% SC, 10% ST) exceeds this cap, potentially undermining merit-based opportunities and triggering backlash from general category groups.
The path to implementing the 42% BC reservation is fraught with legal, procedural, and political challenges. The Indra Sawhney ruling mandates that reservations not exceed 50% unless justified by ‘extraordinary circumstances’ backed by empirical data.
While Telangana’s caste census provides such data, its confidentiality raises transparency concerns. The Patna High Court’s 2024 decision to strike down Bihar’s 65% reservation for exceeding the cap serves as a cautionary precedent, suggesting that Telangana’s proposal could face judicial scrutiny unless it demonstrates exceptional justification.
And there is the triple test doctrine.
The Supreme Court’s rulings in K. Krishnamurthy v. Union of India (2010) and Vikas Kishanrao Gawali v. State of Maharashtra (2021) mandate a ‘triple test’ for OBC reservations in local bodies: empirical identification of backwardness, unit-wise analysis of political backwardness, and compliance with the 50% cap. Telangana’s caste survey addresses the first two criteria, but the lack of public disclosure of the survey data could undermine judicial scrutiny.
Presidential Assent pending
The bills, forwarded to Governor Jishnu Dev Varma and referred to President Droupadi Murmu, await central approval. The delay in assent has prompted the state to pursue an ordinance to implement the 42% BC quota in local body elections, but this move risks being deemed unconstitutional under Article 213(1)(a), as it overlaps with pending bills requiring presidential sanction. Critics argue that the ordinance route, taken to meet the High Court’s election deadline, could be seen as ‘colourable legislation’, a misuse of power for political expediency.
Political Resistance
While the bills garnered bipartisan support, posts on X indicate discontent among some BC leaders, who allege inadequate legal safeguards. The BJP has accused the Congress of using the policy for vote-bank politics, potentially diverting benefits to Muslim communities under the BC category. Such criticisms could fuel opposition at the central level, where a constitutional amendment to include the bills in the Ninth Schedule, shielding them from judicial review, is sought.
Constitutional Amendment
To legally breach the 50% cap, Telangana seeks to emulate Tamil Nadu, where a 69% reservation was protected under the Ninth Schedule. However, the Supreme Court’s IR Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007) ruling clarifies that Ninth Schedule inclusion does not guarantee immunity from judicial review if the policy violates constitutional principles likeequality. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has proposed an all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to push for this amendment, but political differences and central delays complicate the process.