HYDERABAD: Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has sent the recently passed Bills — which propose raising the Backward Classes (BC) reservations to 42% in education, employment, and politics — to President Droupadi Murmu for consideration.
The Governor also approved the Telangana Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Bill, 2025. This Bill sets out a new framework for the classification of SC reservations. Telangana could become the first state to implement SC sub-categorisation after the Supreme Court allowed states to enact laws based on local needs.
On March 18, the Assembly passed The Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointment 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.
Telangana wants quota laws under 9th Schedule
Currently, reservations in Telangana are 29% for BCs, 15% for SCs, and 6% for STs, totalling 50%. The new bills would raise the overall reservation to 63%, exceeding the 50% cap set by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has consistently held that total reservations across all categories should not go beyond 50%.
Legal experts argue that the proposed 42% BC reservation could conflict with this precedent, resulting in the Governor forwarding the Bills to the President.
The Telangana government has also requested the Centre to place the new reservation laws under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
The Ninth Schedule shields certain laws from judicial review, limits court challenges and is viewed as important for ensuring the legal standing of the proposed legislation.
