SC ruling on EWS encourages govt to push anew for Maratha quota

Mumbai: After the Supreme Court ruling on the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota last Monday, the Maharashtra government has speeded up its legal battle on reservations for the Maratha community

Mumbai: After the Supreme Court ruling on the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota last Monday, the Maharashtra government has speeded up its legal battle on reservations for the Maratha community. It has decided to move the apex court, urging it to hear the review petition of June 2021 which was submitted to prove that the Maratha community was indeed backward and thus deserving of reservations. The review petition was based on the findings of the Gaikwad Commission Report of 2018.

The five-judge SC bench last Monday upheld the 10 percent quota given to the EWS in jobs and education.

The five-judge SC bench last Monday upheld the 10 percent quota given to the EWS in jobs and education, allowing reservations to cross the 50 percent cap—a cap which has been in place since the Indra Sawney case of the 1990s. Viewing the development as a ray of hope for Maratha reservation, the cabinet sub-committee headed by education minister and Maratha leader Chandrakant Patil held meetings with legal experts last week. The latest meeting held on Friday was attended by members of the Gaikwad Commission as also the Justice Bhosale Committee appointed to study the steps required to revive the quota.

“One of the two grounds to quash the Maratha quota has been nullified after the apex court allowed the breaching of the 50 percent cap in the EWS quota. The state wants to build up its case on the second ground of rejection during the hearing of the review petition, which was that the Marathas are not a backward community. Legal experts see the possibility of contesting this on the basis of the Gaikwad Commission report,” said an official from the general administration department.

The apex court on May 5, 2021, had said that there were no exceptional circumstances or extraordinary situation in Maharashtra that called for the government to do away with the 50 percent ceiling on reservation. A committee headed by Justice Dilip Bhosale had in June 2021 recommended the constitution of a fresh commission to study the backwardness of the community. The Bhosale Committee was appointed to look at the steps required to revive the Maratha quota.

Vinod Patil, one of the petitioners for a Maratha reservation quota, said, “The SC had pointed out the discrepancies in the Gaikwad Commission Report but it has not been completely quashed. The state can request the SC to revisit the report for the restoration of the quota. It is the best option available before the government.”

Meanwhile, sensing the delay in the restoration of the quota due to lengthy legal procedures, the state government has taken a few steps to woo the Maratha community ahead of the municipal polls. “The demolition of the illegal structures next to Afzal Khan’s tomb at Pratapgad last week and the announcement made of bringing back the Bhavani sword of Shivaji Maharaj by 2024 are some of them,” said a BJP leader. “The government cannot afford the displeasure of the Maratha community, which is disgruntled after the quota was quashed. Ahead of the 2024 general elections, it will at least try to create the impression that it is trying its best to restore the quota.”