An advocate opposing the Maratha reservation at the Bombay High Court on Friday questioned why the Marathas cannot be given reservation under Other Backward Class (OBC), given that the Kunbis, who are of the same caste as the Marathas, already have such a reservation.
Senior counsel Shreehari Aney was appearing before a Division Bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre, which is hearing a bunch of petitions for and against the 16% reservation for Marathas in jobs and education. “Kunbis are already included in (the) OBC (category) so Marathas too should have been included in it instead of creating a special category of Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC),” Mr. Aney said.
Doubts over report
Mr. Aney, appearing for Uday Dhople, questioned the report submitted by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission on the basis of which the quota was culled out and said, “The data has no reference to the educational backwardness of the community and the final conclusion only says, the community is socially as well as educationally backward.”
Reiterating his submission made earlier, Mr. Aney said the government has given Marathas reservation because it has failed to provide adequate education and jobs for them. He said the State has destroyed the concept of equality and violated Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution and given Marathas permanent crutches.
‘Narrow silos’
“The Constitution of India has a golden thread by way of Article 14. It is an attempt to assault and destroy this Article,” Mr. Aney, former Advocate General of Maharashtra, said. “The government cannot divide the nation or society into small fragments. This decision of the State is a prime example of erecting narrow silos that shuts doors for people to have equal opportunities at jobs and education.”
Pointing out that Kunbis and Marathas are the same caste, he said, why do Marathas have to be put in a special category. To this, Justice Dangre said, “In future, the government may feel the need to include other classes and categories under SEBC.”
However, Mr. Aney said, Maharashtra cannot hit the 50% ceiling of reservation. “All other States have been very careful to not exceed the 50% level and Maharashtra has 78% reservation.” He concluded by saying, “Simply on the basis of this violation, the decision of the government must be quashed and set aside.”
