Maratha quota: Shinde-Fadnavis govt to file curative petition

The commission will establish the backwardness of the community by weeding out the lapses pointed by the apex court while rejecting the reservation. Shinde has directed the state administration to appoint neutral, efficient agencies for the purpose and back them with manpower and administrative support for a quick turnaround

MUMBAI: A day after the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed its review petition for Maratha reservation, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting with key members of the ruling combine on Friday, and announced that the government will file a curative petition in the apex court. It has also decided to constitute a new commission to study the backwardness of the community to make a case for the quota.

Maratha quota: Shinde-Fadnavis govt to file curative petition

The commission will establish the backwardness of the community by weeding out the lapses pointed by the apex court while rejecting the reservation. Shinde has directed the state administration to appoint neutral, efficient agencies for the purpose and back them with manpower and administrative support for a quick turnaround.

“We will do everything needed to restore the quota. We have discussed every option available for the quota. The appointed cabinet sub-committee will review the progress every week,” said Shinde.

Experts however are of the opinion that none of these measures are likely to effectively challenge Thursday’s SC order.

Maratha leader Virendra Pawar said, “A curative petition has never worked in the past. The only options available with the governments are either to include Marathas in other backward class or recommend the central government to make constitutional amendment to lift the cap of 50% on reservation.”

Pawar said that the Banthia Commission, appointed for empirical data, had estimated the OBC population to be 36%, making room for Marathas to be included in that category. “OBCs currently get 27% reservation, disproportionate to their population. The reservation for them should be 18 to 19% (50% of the population) and the remaining can be given to Marathas,” he said.

Balasaheb Sarate, another Maratha leader and a petitioner in Maratha reservation case in Bombay High Court said, “The state government is not ready to incorporate us in the OBC category for obvious reasons. These are just tactics to buy time.”

Marathas were given 12 and 13% quota in education and government jobs respectively under Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act 2018. On May 5, 2021, SC quashed Maratha reservation granted in education and government jobs in the state, saying people from the Maratha community cannot be declared educationally and socially backward.

After the SC ruling, the then Maharashra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had appointed the Justice Dilip Bhosale committee to recommend steps to restore the quota. The committee had recommended a new commission for a report on the backwardness of the community. “The fresh commission should overcome the lacunae pointed out by the apex court,” it had stated.

A lawyer who was part of the team representing the government in court said both options are unlikely to offer any respite. He said: “The Maratha reservation was struck down by SC because it was exceeding the 50% cap and for the failure of proving the ‘exceptional and extraordinary’ conditions of the community in which the reservation can be given. This means the commission can perhaps prove the backwardness and recommend reservation but how can it help to cross the 50% cap.”

Another official from the general administration department said that the state can recommend that the central government make a constitutional amendment to remove the 50% cap on quota. “The 107th amendment has given powers to the state to give reservation on the basis of backwardness subject to the total reservation of 50%. If it had removed the cap, the Maratha reservation was possible,” he said.

The opposition has slammed the state government for what it considers a “non-serious” approach towards the reservation. “The steps announced by the government are imperative, but the hurdle of 50% cap remains untouched. When we were in government, we had passed a resolution for the removal of the cap, but no steps have been taken by BJP,” said former chief minister Ashok Chavan.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “The leaders who have been assuring Maratha and Dhangar reservations when they were in the opposition, should now act on their assurance.” Raut was referring to Fadnavis’s assurance to the shepherd community ahead of the 2014 assembly polls. As leader of opposition during the MVA rule, when it was quashed, he had said the reservation would be given back once he is back in power.

Leader of opposition Ajit Pawar said, “The state government should consult legal experts, community leaders and opposition leaders to quickly restore the reservation.”