Karnataka government skirts internal reservation in recruitments

Karnataka government initiates recruitment for 56,432 posts without internal reservation, disappointing Dalit Left communities seeking equity.

In a move that has left the Dalit Left communities upset, the Karnataka government has asked the authorities/departments to kick-start the recruitment process for 56,432 posts with quota for 101 Scheduled Castes at 15%, but without internal reservation.

With this, while the State government has announced one of largest recruitment drives to fill posts amid pressure from aspirants, the hopes of Dalit Left communities to secure internal reservation — a demand of over three decades — has not been met.

The Government Order (GO), issued by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, accessed by The Hindu, caps the overall quota at 50%, but 2% and 4% of posts have been asked to be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, respectively, subject to the court’s final order on increasing reservation beyond 50%.

The GO asks authorities/department to initiate recruitment notifications over the next 30 days to fill 56,432 posts, based on the reservation order and 100 points roster prevailing prior to December 28, 2022. They have been asked to follow the June 20, 1995, order that fixed the roster, and continue the roster from the point where it was stopped as per the December 12, 2022, order.

Under each category of vertical reservation, the government has asked authorities to adhere to March 8, 2023, order to provide for reservation to ex-servicemen, physically challenged people, rural candidates, women, Kannada-medium candidates, third gender candidates and those who lost homes in projects.

With the government kickstarting recruitment process without provisions for internal reservation, it will in effect disregard two new pieces of legislation — The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or posts in the Services under the State) Act, 2022, that increases reservation for SCs from 15 % to 17 % and STs from 3 % to 7 %, and The Karnataka Scheduled Castes (Sub-classification) Bill, 2025, for internal reservation that has received the Governor’s assent.