Maratha quota: SC refuses to stay Bombay HC judgement

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Bombay High Court judgement, which gave its stamp of approval to the quota for the Maratha community in jobs and education in Maharashtra.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, however, ordered that the Maratha reservation in jobs and education can't be applied with retrospective effect.

The court directed the orders passed by the state government, following the HC verdict of June 27, for applying the quota since 2014 would be subject to the outcome of a challenge to it.

The court issued a notice to the Maharashtra government on petitions challenging the high court's judgement.

The high court, in its June 27 order, said the 50 % cap on reservation imposed by the apex court could be exceeded only in exceptional circumstances. It said a 12 and a 13 % quota to the Maratha community in education and jobs respectively could be allowed.

It was contended that the decision had breached the 50-per cent ceiling on reservation fixed by the apex court in its landmark judgment by the nine-judge bench in the 'Indra Sawhney' case (1992), also known as the "Mandal verdict".