7 things to know about Ninth Schedule as Nitish eyes Constitution's shield for Bihar's 65% job quota

The Bihar government is striving to reinstate the state’s revised reservation limit of 65%, which was struck down by the Patna High Court. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that they have requested the Centre to include this in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to shield it from judicial review.

Additionally, the JD(U)-BJP coalition has appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s ruling from June, which was based on a PIL challenging the increase in reservation for SC, ST, and backward classes from 50 per cent to 65 per cent, Times of India reported.

The 65 per cent reservation breaches the 50 per cent ceiling set by the Supreme Court in the landmark 1992 Indra Sawhney v Union of India verdict. However, placing a legislation in the Ninth Schedule shields it from judicial scrutiny.

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Here are 7 things to know about the Ninth Schedule:

1. Legal Shield: The Ninth Schedule of the Indian Constitution contains a list of central and state laws that are protected from being challenged in courts, currently encompassing 284 laws.

2. Agrarian Focus: Most laws under the Ninth Schedule pertain to agriculture and land issues, reflecting the original intent to protect agrarian reforms and abolish the Zamindari system.

3. Historical Origin: The Ninth Schedule was introduced in 1951 through the First Amendment, alongside Article 31B, to safeguard laws related to agrarian reform from judicial scrutiny.

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4. Specific vs. Class Laws: Article 31B protects specific laws or enactments by placing them in the Ninth Schedule, whereas Article 31A extends protection to broader classes of laws.

5. Judicial Review Limitations: Although the Ninth Schedule provides a “safe harbour” from judicial review, this protection is not absolute. Laws can still be challenged on grounds other than the violation of fundamental rights.

6. Basic Structure Test: In a landmark 2007 ruling, the Supreme Court declared that laws in the Ninth Schedule, if added after 1973, could be challenged if they violate the basic structure of the Constitution, a doctrine established in the Kesavananda Bharati case.

7. Amendment History: The First Amendment initially added 13 laws to the Ninth Schedule. Subsequent amendments in various years, including 1955, 1964, 1971, and others, have increased this number to 284 protected laws.