Bombay High Court Verdict On Maharashtra Government's Maratha Quota Today

On November 30 last year, the Maharashtra legislature passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in education and government jobs for the Marathas under the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) category.

Several petitions were filed in the high court challenging the reservation, while a few others were filed in support of the quota. Representational Picture (AFP)

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court will on Thursday pronounce its judgment on a bunch of petitions challenging the Maharashtra government's decision to grant 16 per cent quota to Maratha community in government jobs and educational institutions. On November 30 last year, the Maharashtra legislature passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in education and government jobs for the Marathas under the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) category. Several petitions were filed in the high court challenging the reservation, while a few others were filed in support of the quota. On February 6, a division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre ommenced hearing in all the petitions. In April this year, the court closed the petitions for verdict. The government, while defending its decision, had said reservation was only to bring up the Maratha community which was neglected since long. The petitioners challenging the quota decision, however, claimed by granting reservation to the Maratha community, the government has given them permanent crutches which they will never be able to shed. The government has destroyed the concept of equality by setting up a special category - Socially and Educationally Backward Class - for the Maratha community, the petitioners argued. They also claimed that as per the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission report, Marathas and Kunbis are one and the same caste and hence, should be included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.