A petitioner argued before the Bombay High Court that the Maratha community, not being backward, does not require reservation in government jobs and education.
A full bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya, Justices G S Kulkarni, and Firdosh Pooniwalla commenced hearings on several petitions challenging the Maharashtra government’s February 2022 decision to allocate 10 percent reservation to the community under the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) category.
As an interim relief, the petitioners have sought a stay to appointments in government departments or admissions to educational institutions under the quota.
Senior counsel Gopal Sankaranarayana, representing one of the petitioners, argued that the issue had already been settled by the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court, in May 2021, invalidated the reservation granted to the community. There has been no change in the status of individuals from the Maratha community since 2021 to justify reservation,” he stated.
“It is regrettable that we (petitioners) are compelled to approach the court repeatedly because the government seeks to appease a particular powerful community,” advocate Sankaranarayana further expressed.
He contended that despite the government’s claims, the Maratha community is not backward. “Maratha community members have been actively involved in society and hold significant political influence. They are a progressive community and therefore do not require reservation,” Sankaranarayana asserted.
The senior lawyer also alleged that the data used by the government to justify the fresh reservation under the SEBC category was the same as that in 2021.
“The data remains unchanged. Unless some unexplained transformation has occurred in the past 36 months (since the May 2021 SC judgment) necessitating a review of reservations, there is no basis for granting reservation,” Sankaranarayana added.
The state government had allocated a quota to the Maratha community under the SEBC category in 2022 following the Supreme Court’s annulment of the earlier reservation, citing that it breached Maharashtra’s overall reservation cap of 50 percent.
A renewed agitation for Maratha quota, spearheaded by activist Manoj Jarange, took place in the state last year.
The hearing on the interim reliefs requested by the petitioners will continue on April 15, 2024.
