Arguments on Maratha quota begin, will go on till next week

Reservations have been based on caste, but its application has been selective

K A Y Dodhiya

A Bombay high court bench is hearing arguments for and against Maratha reservation (HT Photo)

The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday started hearing the petitions challenging the state government’s decision to grant 16% reservation to Maratha community. The arguments will continue until next week.

While senior counsels Mukul Rohatgi, VA Thorat, Shreehari Aney and Anil Sakhare appeared for the state, Arvind Datar, Pradeep Sancheti, Sangharaj Rupwate, Satish Talekar, Ejaz Naqvi, Pooja Thorat, Gunaratan Sadavarte and others appeared for the petitioners.

Sadavarte, who appeared for petitioner Dr Jishri Patil, told a bench of justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre that the community, a backward class, could have been included in the other backward class (OBC).

He said the state deemed it better to go beyond the 50% cap to appease the community and safeguard itself from the ire of the SC/ST, a claim made in the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission (MSBCC) report.

He also submitted that in the past too, reservations have been based on caste, but its application has been selective.

Datar, who appeared for advocate and petitioner Sanjeet Shukla told the court the cap on the reservations was not only espoused in Article 16 of the Constitution of India, but was also confirmed by the Supreme Court.

He said the state had flouted both, and hence the reservation should be set aside.

Datar further submitted that reservations beyond 50% could be permitted for smaller states, but a prosperous state like Maharashtra did not have the need to breach the cap.