THE Bombay High Court has deferred the final hearing in the matter regarding the Maharashtra government’s decision to reserve a quota in government jobs and seats in education institutions for the Maratha community to March 29, 2017.
A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice GS Kulkarni was hearing a batch of PILs and writ petitions by Advocate Sanjeet Shukla and others that were filed after the state government decided to reserve 16 per cent of government jobs and educational institutions in the state for the Maratha community.
Although Monday was scheduled by the bench for final hearing, the main petitioner, Sanjeet Shukla, challenged Maratha reservations in jobs and education. Meanwhile, a new petition has been filed by Ajay Baraskar, who belongs to the other backward classes, seeking that the issue pertaining to Maratha reservations be referred to the newly constituted commission instead of being heard by the High Court. Petitioners that the State Backward Commission can conduct a survey and file its report. The case has now been deferred for four weeks.
The State Backward Commission, which was reconstituted after new chairman Justice Sambhajirao Mhase took over on January 4 this year, conducts surveys, looks at the collection of quantifiable data and ascertains the backwardness of a particular community. This means the percentage fixed by the state government for reservation can also be looked into. The previous two commissions had decided to exclude the Maratha community from reservation.
Speaking to ABI (abinet.org) Advocate Sanjeet Shukla, said that it was for the state to go and justify its position before the commission and the court could not ask the commission to look into the matter. Senior counsel VA Thorat appearing for the state said if the court directed the matter to the commission, “the state will cooperate.”
It was also pointed out to the court that data collected under previous committees as also data which formed part of the government affidavit were never placed before the commission.
The court also observed that the commission’s report could determine whether Marathas are a “backward” community and as far as the constitutional question of whether they are entitled to reservation will be decided by the court itself.
In 2014, the HC had granted a stay on the state government’s decision in Writ petition number 3151 of 2014 Sanjeet Shukla v/s State of Maharashtra & others to grant reservation and held that the Maratha community cannot be regarded as “backward” and cited the reports by National Commission for Backward Classes as well as the Mandal Commission, which concluded that the said community is “socially advanced”.
Although the state had challenged this interim order before the apex court, the SC refused to interfere in the matter stating that it was an interim order passed by the Bombay High Court.