Special HC bench to hear afresh plea against Maratha reservation from July 18

Mumbai, Jun 11 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said it would hear afresh the pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the law providing Maratha reservation from July 18.

The interim order passed last year, whereby applications for admissions to educational institutions or jobs at government authorities taking benefit of the impugned Act will be subject to further orders in the present proceedings shall continue.

A special bench comprising Justices Ravindra Ghuge, N J Jamadar and Sandeep Marne was constituted last month to hear and decide the public interest litigations and petitions related to the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2024.

The 2024 law, which provided 10 per cent reservation in education and government jobs to the Maratha community that constitutes nearly one-third of Maharashtra's population, had been at the forefront of political discourse last year during the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Last year, a full bench headed by former high court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya had commenced hearing into a bunch of petitions challenging the law on the ground that the Maratha community was not a backward one that requires benefits of reservation.

The pleas also claimed that Maharashtra has already crossed the 50 per cent cap on reservation.

However, the hearing came to a standstill after CJ Upadhyaya was transferred to Delhi High Court in January this year.

On May 14, the Supreme Court directed the Bombay High Court to constitute a special bench and urgently hear the matter.

In March last year, when the petitions against the reservation were filed, the HC in an interim order said that applications for NEET 2024 admission to undergraduate medical courses, wherein a 10 per cent reservation granted to members of the Maratha community is applicable, will be subject to further orders in the pleas challenging the law.

On April 16, 2024, the full bench also clarified that till further orders, any applications for admissions to educational institutions or jobs at government authorities taking benefit of the impugned Act will be subject to further orders in the present proceedings.

The SEBC Act was passed on February 20 last year.

It was formulated by the then chief minister Eknath Shinde-led government based on a report of the retired Justice Sunil Shukre-led Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) that found "exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations exist" to grant reservation to Maratha community in excess of 50 per cent total reservation in the state.

Thereafter, petitions also challenged Shukre's appointment as MSBCC chairperson.

In December 2018, a batch of petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the earlier SEBC Act of 2018 that granted Marathas 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education.

In June 2018, the HC upheld the 2018 Act but reduced the quota to 12 per cent in education and 13 per cent in government jobs.

This was challenged in the apex court, which in May 2021 struck down the entire Act.

A review petition filed by the Maharashtra government was also rejected by the Supreme Court in May 2023. PTI SP NP