Justice H.N. Nagmohan Das submits the interim report on internal reservation in Karnataka to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Dalit leaders and Ministers K.H. Muniyappa, H.C. Mahadevappa, R.B. Thimmapur and Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, and former social welfare minister H. Anjaneya are seen.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Justice H.N. Nagmohan Das Commission submitted its interim report on the over two-decades-long internal reservation issue among the Scheduled Castes in Karnataka, to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on March 27, 2025, (Thursday), a few minutes before the scheduled State Cabinet meeting.

Ministers K.H. Muniyappa, H.C. Mahadevappa, R.B. Thimmapur and Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, and former social welfare minister H. Anjaneya were among the Dalit leaders present when Justice H.N. Nagmohan Das submitted the report to Mr. Siddaramaiah.

A few days ago, Ministers had held a press conference seeking early implementation of the internal reservation among SCs.

The Congress government had set up the commission after the Supreme Court last year allowed the States to provide for internal reservation. The internal reservation will slice up the 17% reservation matrix given to 101 scheduled castes.

Report relies on 2011 census data

The Congress in its 2023 Assembly election manifesto promised to implement the Justice A.J. Sadashiva Commission report to provide internal reservation for the SCs. So far, the Congress government has been arguing that Dalit sub-quotas would be possible only if the Centre ensures amendment of Article 341 of the Constitution, but the Supreme Court judgment empowers States to sub-classify the SC communities.

The report would pose a challenge for the Congress government in Karnataka as several groups are vying for higher share in the quota.

The commission has been set up to recommend ways and means of implementing internal reservation while adhering to Supreme Court guidelines and based on empirical data. It has been asked to rely on the 2011 census data to make its recommendation. Till the report is discussed and implemented, fresh notification for recruitment, filling of backlog posts and promotions in government departments have been halted.

Not a homogenised social denomination

The demand for internal quota has risen on the premise that sub-castes within the SCs are not a homogenised social denomination and there is intra-caste discrimination. The Sadashiva Commission indicated that the SC ‘Right’ has got more benefits from reservation in education and employment than the other categories.

On March 24, 2023, the Basavaraj Bommai government announced an internal quota among 101 SC communities. It provided a quota of 6% to SC (Left), 5.5% to SC (Right), 4.5% to SC (Touchable), and 1% to SC (others). It hiked the quotas of SCs from 15% to 17% and STs from 3% to 7% based on the Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das Commission report and sent the proposal to the Centre. In the run-up to the 2023 polls, the Congress opposed this classification, arguing that it was aimed at securing the votes of the dominant class within the SCs.

Earlier, the A.J. Sadashiva Commission had recommended internal reservation in its report in 2012, which had been opposed by the Dalit Right communities pointing out anomalies in population data.

Several States, including Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu, formed commissions on internal quota in different years.