Supreme Court. (Image for representation / AFP)
The higher court order means that there will be no quota for the Maratha community in state government jobs and educational institutions until the matter is decided by the larger court.
- CNN-News18 New Delhi
- Last update: September 9, 2020 4:57 PM IST
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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court suspended a Maharashtra state law granting reservations to the Maratha community in government jobs and education. A bank headed by Judge LN Rao issued the provisional suspension order while referring a handful of petitions to a larger bank of five or more judges.
The order means that there will be no quotas for the Maratha community on state government jobs and educational institutions until the matter is decided by a larger court.
In issuing the interim directive, the court made clear that admissions to graduate courses will not be affected as the exams ended in July.
The suspension order came even as the Maharashtra government submitted that there would be no regular appointment in the works at the moment.
The Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act (SEBC) establishes a 12-13% quota for the Maratha community in employment and education.
The petitioners, who have challenged the Maratha reservation -which brings the quota percentage in the state above 50% declared by a court of nine Supreme Court judges in the Indira Sawhney case- have requested a court of 11 judges to decide the allegations. .
Appeals said the Bombay High Court’s decision is seriously wrong, as state law has violated the 50% reserve limit set by a Constitutional Court in the Indira Sawhney ruling. It has also been argued that the higher court’s decision was based on incomplete data. They have said that the reserve law was enacted under political pressure, bypassing established norms.
‘Black day for the Marathas’
It is a “black day” for the Marathas, the Maharashtra BJP said on Wednesday when it attacked the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) state government after the Supreme Court suspended implementation of the 2018 law granting community quotas in education and employment. BJP state chairman Chandrakant Patil said the MVA, which comprises the Shiv Sena, the NCP and Congress, “was not serious” in ensuring that the quota stood firm in the high court.
Patil also accused Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and CPN President Sharad Pawar of not paying attention to the matter. “The MVA could not guarantee that the reservation would stand before the Supreme Court,” he said.
Noting that the higher court referred the series of allegations challenging the validity of the law to a larger court, Patil said that now no one knows when the ruling in the matter will arrive. He argued that matters referred to a larger court in the past have been pending for years.
“This means that the suspension will continue until the bank gives an order. Now it does not make sense for the community to protest either, because no one knows when the ruling will come. Therefore, it is a black day for the community,” said the BJP leader . , adding that his party had repeatedly told the MVA government to take the issue seriously and legally prepare for it.
“The MVA did not want the reservation. Which senior leader among them paid attention to the matter? Did Uddhav ji or Sharad Pawar pay attention?” I ask. “There is scope to say now that their mentality was such that they were fine if the quota was kept, as they weren’t serious about making sure it was kept.”
The Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act (ESCB) 2018 was enacted to grant reservations to people from the Maratha community in Maharashtra in employment and education. The Bombay High Court, while upholding the law in June last year, held that the 16% reservation was not justifiable and said the quota should not exceed 12% in employment and 13% in admissions.
The politically dominant Maratha community, which constitutes more than 30% of the state’s population, has held several protests in the past demanding reservations on employment and education.
(With PTI inputs)
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