Mumbai: In what may come as a relief to those who got jobs under the Maratha reservation, the Bombay High Court on Thursday extended the stay for six months to temporarily fill the posts under the 16% quota.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice G.S. Kulkarni was hearing a bunch of petitions and public interest litigations on the Maratha reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. The government had earlier moved a civil application which said contracts of posts filled under the quota have come to an end and they need to be temporarily extended.
In 2015, the HC had stayed the government decision to grant reservation, and had held that the Maratha community could not be regarded as the backward class, and that the National Commission for Backward Class and the Mandal Commission had concluded that the Maratha community is socially advanced.
The State also said they will forward data on the Marathas to the Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes. The court had previously said it will be better if the commission hears this matter first as it is an expert body and will be able to give a comprehensive report on it.
The Bench said once the report reaches them, it will assist the court decide the matter. The Bench also said the commission will only decide if the Maratha community falls under the category of backward or not; whether or not it is entitled to reservation is a constitutional issue which the court will decide.
In December 2016, the State had filed a 2,800-page affidavit justifying the demand for reservation for Marathas as legal and well within the provisions of the Constitution.
