Maharashtra govt to file curative petition in Supreme Court on Maratha quota

CM Eknath Shinde directed that the process of filing the curative petition should begin immediately

Rattled by the Supreme Court rejecting the review petition vis-a-vis the long-pending Maratha reservation issue, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government on Friday decided to file a curative petition in the apex court and set up a new commission for a fresh survey.

On Thursday, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed a review petition filed by Maharashtra government - challenging the 5 May, 2021 judgment which declared a law which provides reservation benefits to the Maratha community taking the quota limit in the State in excess of 50 per cent, as unconstitutional.

“We are committed to provide reservation to the Maratha community, we will do all that is needful,” Shinde told reporters after the meeting held at the Sahyadri Guest House on Friday.

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Those present in the meeting include Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, members of the ministerial sub-committee including Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, Ports Minister Dada Bhuse, Excise Minister Shamburaj Desai, Industries Minister Uday Samant, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ravindra Chavan, MLC Pravin Darekar, Justice M G Gaikwad (Retd), Advocate General Birendra Saraf, Advocate Vijay Thorat and Narendra Patil, the President of Annasaheb Patil Economically Backward Development Corporation (APEDC).

Shinde directed that the process of filing the curative petition should begin immediately. “The comprehensive survey should include efficient, non biased organisations and they should be provided all facilities by the administration along with human resources,” he said.

The Marathas account for nearly 33 per cent of the total 12 crore population of Maharashtra.

Of the total 52 per cent reservation in the state, SCs and STs account for 13 and 7 per cent, respectively, OBCs get 19 per cent, VJNT, Special Backward Class and Nomadic Tribes account for 13 per cent.

In May 2021, when the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power, the Supreme Court struck down the 2018 Maharashtra law granting reservations to Marathas in admissions to colleges and government jobs, terming it as "unconstitutional", and held there were no exceptional circumstances to breach the 50 per cent reservation cap set by the 1992 Mandal Commission verdict.

In 2018, when the BJP-Shiv Sena government headed by Fadnavis was in power, the Maharashtra legislature had unanimously resolved to provide 16 per cent reservation in jobs and education. The Bombay High Court has upheld the decision, but asked the state government to ensure that the quota does not exceed 12 per cent in employment and 13 per cent in admission in educational institutions.