Maratha quota stir to remain peaceful, Jarange-Patil tells HC

Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarnage-Patil assures peaceful protests to Bombay High Court, but refrains from committing to full compliance with restrictions. New protests planned.

MUMBAI: Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarnage-Patil assured the Bombay high court on Friday through his counsel Vijay Thorat that protests led by him would remain peaceful. But he refrained from committing to complete compliance with reasonable restrictions on freedom of expression under the Constitution, citing a lack of sufficient instructions.

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Patil, who has undertaken several fasts and rallies in the past, has announced fresh protests starting Saturday, including road blockades and other disruptive activities. His primary demand is that Marathas must be given reservation within the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, despite recent legislative efforts to provide a separate 10% quota for the community.

The state government, concerned about the potential impact of the planned protests, sought an urgent hearing on Friday of a petition filed by Gunratan Sadavarte opposing Patil’s agitation.

During the hearing, advocate general Birendra Saraf expressed apprehensions about his call for fresh protests. Patil’s counsel Vijay Thorat criticised the state’s involvement in the petition, describing it as an unusual practice and alleging that the government was essentially “acting as the petitioner”. Thorat emphasised that the state had the authority to take appropriate action if protests escalated, without the need for a court order. He also highlighted how the state government sought listing of the matter citing the poor health of Patil, but the arguments advanced during the hearing were entirely different.

When asked by the court whether Patil could assure that the protests would not disrupt law and order, Thorat declined to make any such statement, citing lack of specific instructions. He also noted that the protests were organised by the Maratha Aarakshan Samiti, of which Patil was a member, suggesting that the responsibility should not rest solely on him.

Following arguments from both parties, the bench of justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak deferred further deliberation on the issue to Monday.