Reservation reductions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes without a new census violate constitutional mandates and must reflect proportional demographics established by current census data.

JUDGMENT

These Writ Petitions are connected and therefore, I am disposing of these Writ Petitions by a common judgment. A common question is raised in these Writ Petitions. First, I will narrate the facts in these Writ Petitions separately.

1. W.P.(C) No.17267 of 2025

The petitioner in this Writ Petition is residing in ward No.12 of Vadanappally Grama Panchayat of Thrissur District, and he belongs to the Scheduled Caste community. The 2^nd respondent vide Ext.P1 Government Order revised the number of seats reserved for the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe category (for short ‘SC/ST’). It is submitted that, as per Ext. P1, the reservation quotas for SC and ST were reduced based on the 2011 Census data. According to the petitioner, this step constitutes a blatant disregard for the socio-economic disparities and historical injustices that were faced by the SC/ST communities. The respondent Panchayat in the previous election had reserved three seats for SC/ST reservation based on the 2011 population census, and thereafter, no Census was conducted in the said panchayat. Now, the number of seats reserved for SC/ST is reduced without conducting a Census, is the grievance. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed.

2. W.P.(C) No.17277 of 2025

The petitioner in this Writ Petition is residing in ward No.6 of Valappad Grama Panchayath in Thrissur District, and she belongs to the SC community. According to the petitioner, the 2^nd respondent vide Ext.P1 Government Order revised the number of seats reserved for the SC/ST category, and as per Ext.P1, the reservation quotas for SC/ST were reduced based on the 2011 Census data. It is submitted that no recent Census data is available to substantiate such claims. It is submitted that the respondent Panchayat in the previous election had reserved three seats for SC/ST reservation based on the population Census. The attempt of the respondents to reduce the number of seats reserved for SC/ST to one instead of three is the grievance of the petitioner. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed.

3. W.P.(C) No.17321 of 2025

The petitioner in this Writ Petition is residing in ward No.3 of Engandiyoor Grama Panchayath of Thrissur District, and he belongs to the SC community. The 2^nd respondent, vide Ext. P1, Government Order, revised the number of seats reserved for the SC/ST category. It is submitted that the respondent Panchayat had reserved four seats for SC/ST in the previous election based on the population Census, and now this reservation has been reduced without conducting a new Census. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed.

4. W.P.(C) No.17352 of 2025

The petitioner in this case is residing in Ward No.2 of Thalikulam Grama Panchayath in Thrissur District, and he belongs to the SC community. As per Ext.P1 Government Order, the reservation quota for SC/ST has been reduced to one seat instead of three in the earlier election, is the grievance of the petitioner. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed.

5. W.P.(C) No.17357 of 2025

The petitioner in this Writ Petition is residing in ward No.8 of Nattika Grama Panchayat of Thrissur District, and he belongs to the SC community. The 2^nd respondent vide Ext.P1 Government Order reduced the reservation quotas for SC/ST under the pretext of demographic fluctuations as per the Census, is the submission. It is submitted that, in the previous election, three seats were reserved for SC/ST, and now it has been reduced. Aggrieved by the same, the above Writ Petition is filed.

6. W.P.(C) No.35938 of 2025

The petitioner in this Writ Petition is the President of the Block Committee of the Indian National Congress, which is a registered political party. It is submi