Latest news with #MaharashtraStateReservationforSociallyandEducationallyBackwardClasses
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
SC to hear plea on Maratha reservation in Maharashtra in July
The Supreme Court on Thursday decided to hear in July a plea over the issue of Maratha reservation in Maharashtra . The matter came up for urgent listing before a bench of Justices K V Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh. The counsel appearing in the case referred to a June 11 order of the Bombay High Court deciding to hear afresh the pleas against the constitutional validity of the law providing Maratha reservation from July 18. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Klang: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo The lawyer informed the bench that the apex court had previously asked the high court to constitute a bench and hear the matter on interim relief. He said the high court declined to grant any interim relief in the matter and would continue to hear the matter. Live Events The top court posted the matter for the July 14 week. A special bench of the high court was constituted last month to hear and decide the pleas related to the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2024. The 2024 law, which provided 10 per cent reservation in education and government jobs to the Maratha community , constituting nearly one-third of Maharashtra's population, had been at the forefront of political discourse last year during the Lok Sabha and the assembly elections. Last year, a full bench headed by then High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya commenced hearing the challenge to the law on the ground that the Maratha community was not a backward one that requires benefits of reservation. The pleas also claimed that Maharashtra has already crossed the 50 per cent cap on reservation. However, the hearing came to a standstill after Chief Justice Upadhyaya was transferred to the Delhi High Court in January. On May 14, the apex court directed the high court to constitute a special bench and urgently hear the matter. In March last year, when the petitions against the reservation were filed, the high court in an interim order said that applications for NEET 2024 admission to undergraduate medical courses, in which a 10 per cent reservation granted to members of the Maratha community was applicable, would be subject to further orders in the pleas challenging the law. On April 16, 2024, the full bench also clarified that till further orders, any applications for admissions to educational institutions or jobs at government authorities taking benefit of the Act will be subject to further orders in the present proceedings. The SEBC Act was passed on February 20 last year. It was formulated by then chief minister Eknath Shinde-led government based on a report of the retired Justice Sunil Shukre-led Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) that found "exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations exist" to grant reservation to the Maratha community in excess of 50 per cent total reservation in the state. In December 2018, a batch of petitions was filed in the high court challenging the earlier SEBC Act of 2018 that granted Marathas 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education. In June 2018, the high court upheld the 2018 Act but reduced the quota to 12 per cent in education and 13 per cent in government jobs. This was challenged in the apex court, which in May 2021 struck down the entire Act. A review petition filed by the Maharashtra government was also rejected by the Supreme Court in May 2023.
India Today
11-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
10% Maratha reservation to continue this year, hearing on fresh pleas from July 18
The Maratha reservation issue will once again come under judicial scrutiny, with a newly constituted full bench of the Bombay High Court set to begin hearings on fresh pleas from July 18. However, the 10 per cent reservation in education and government jobs given to the Maratha community will continue this bench, comprising Justices Ravindra Ghuge, NJ Jamadar and Sandeep Marne, announced on Wednesday that they would devote half-days, full working days and even some Saturdays - ordinarily court holidays - to complete the hearing hearing pertains to challenges against the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2024, which grants 10 per cent reservation in education and government jobs to the Maratha community. Under this order, any admission or job appointment made under the SEBC Act remains subject to final court directions. The matter was previously heard by a bench led by then-Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya. However, proceedings halted after his transfer to the Delhi High Court in January. Following this, some students approached the Supreme Court, citing harm to their admission prospects due to the ongoing legal uncertainty. The top court subsequently directed the Bombay High Court to constitute a new full bench, which has now taken Wednesday's hearing, senior advocate Pradeep Sancheti, representing the petitioners, urged the bench to expedite proceedings as the academic admission cycle was underway. He argued that, unlike job appointments, delayed admissions would be harder to rectify, even with the interim order in General Dr Birendra Saraf, appearing for the Maharashtra government, said the state needed more time to respond to the latest petition filed in court. He maintained that the interim order provided adequate safeguards and questioned the urgency shown by the petitioners. He also suggested that the petitioners withdraw the new plea if they were unwilling to allow time for the state to considering the submissions, the bench scheduled the hearing for five weeks SEBC Act, passed on February 20 last year by the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, followed recommendations by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) led by retired Justice Sunil Shukre. The commission had concluded that "exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations" warranted reservation for the Maratha community beyond the 50 per cent cap mandated by the Supreme legislation, which came just ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, sparked a series of public interest litigations and petitions challenging its constitutional validity. Simultaneously, numerous intervention applications have been filed by Maratha organisations defending the reservation and opposing the addition to the reservation issue, petitions have also been filed questioning the legality of Justice Shukre's appointment as chairperson of the Watch
The Hindu
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Newly constituted Special Bench to hear petitions against Maratha reservation afresh from July 18
The Special Bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) said it would hear afresh the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2024, which grants 10% reservation to the Maratha community in education, and in government jobs in the State, from July 18. Explained | Why were Marathas granted reservation? The full Bench comprising Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge, Justice N. J. Jamadar, and Justice Sandeep Marne said it would continue hearings even on alternate Saturdays, which are usually court holidays, to hear the final arguments in the case. The Supreme Court on May 14 directed the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court to urgently constitute a new Full Bench to hear the petitions against the Maratha reservation. The court issued the direction while hearing a writ petition filed by National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2025 aspirants, who have challenged the implementation of the 10% Maratha quota citing academic urgency and disruption in the admission process. On May 15, a High Court notification by the Registrar Judicial said that the Special Bench comprising the three judges had been constituted to hear and decide the public interest litigations (PILs) and civil writ petitions on matters relating to the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2024. The previous Full Bench comprised the former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, and Justices G. S. Kulkarni and Firdosh P. Pooniwalla. The petitions in the matter were not completely heard after the former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court was transferred in January this year as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. The large Bench had heard the matter extensively. A clutch of petitions challenged the law on the ground that the Marathas were not a backward community needing the benefits of reservation, and that the State had already crossed the 50% cap on quotas. The petitioners had concluded their arguments in October 2024, whereas the State had started presenting its arguments in November 2024. The 2024 Act, enacted by the ruling Mahayuti government, grants 10% reservation in education, and government jobs to the Maratha community, who make up nearly one-third of the State's population. This law was at the forefront of political discourse during the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Act was passed on February 20, 2024, and notified on February 26, 2024, by then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, based on a report by retired Justice Sunil B. Shukre, who led the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission. The report cited 'exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations' to justify granting reservation to the Maratha community by breaching the 50% cap on reservations in the State.
Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Maratha quota hearings to resume: Why has the process restarted, what's happened so far?
The Bombay High Court this week constituted a new three-judge Bench to resume hearings on the challenge to the reservation in jobs and education granted to the Maratha community last year. In February 2024, weeks ahead of Lok Sabha elections, the government of then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde enacted the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2024, which created a 10% quota in education and public employment for Marathas under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) category. The Maratha quota was a major issue in the Lok Sabha election and the Assembly elections held later that year. It is now expected to have an influence over the upcoming local body elections in the state. The law was challenged in the High Court on the grounds that Marathas were not a backward community in need of reservation, and that the quota breached the 50% ceiling on quotas imposed by the Supreme Court in the Mandal case. The last hearing in the matter took place almost seven months ago. Why was the hearing paused? A three-judge or 'Full Bench' of the High Court comprising then Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justices Girish S Kulkarni and Firdosh P Pooniwalla had begun hearing the challenge in April 2024. The petitioners concluded their arguments on October 14, and Advocate General for Maharashtra Birendra Saraf opened arguments for the state on November 11. However, before the proceedings could be concluded, Chief Justice Upadhyaya was transferred as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court. He took oath on January 21 this year; Justice Alok Aradhe took charge as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court that same afternoon. So what has happened now? On May 13, a day before he took charge as Chief Justice of India, Justices B R Gavai heard, along with Justice Augustine George Masih, a petition filed by students appearing for the 2025 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges. The petitioners sought an interim stay on the implementation of the 2024 Act, arguing that the delay in resolving the legal challenge affected their right to equal opportunity in admissions. The previous Full Bench led by then Chief Justice Upadhyaya had clarified on April 16, 2024 that any applications for admissions to educational institutions or government jobs taking benefit of the impugned Act would be subject to further orders in the ongoing proceedings. The Supreme Court acknowledged the delay and directed Chief Justice Aradhe of the Bombay High Court to set up a new Bench to expedite hearings. The top court also asked the High Court to urgently consider the interim relief sought by the petitioners. Complying with the SC's directive, the HC on Thursday (May 15) notified a new Full Bench comprising Justices Ravindra V Ghuge, N J Jamadar, and Sandeep V Marne to hear the public interest pleas and writ petitions challenging the Maratha quota Act. How has the issue of Maratha reservations played out earlier? The Marathas, who constitute almost a third of Maharashtra's population, are historically recognised as a 'warrior' community, most of whose members belong to agricultural and landowning backgrounds. Their push for reservation in education and public employment dates back to the early 1980s and has remained a politically sensitive question, particularly during state Assembly and parliamentary elections. Previous legislative efforts to create a Maratha quota have faced legal setbacks. In 2014, the Bombay HC had stayed a previous law granting reservation to the community, and the SC had subsequently declined to vacate the stay. In 2017, the Maharashtra government formed the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) headed by Justice M G Gaikwad (retired), and based on its findings, The SEBC Act, 2018 was enacted. In June 2019, the Bombay HC upheld the validity of the SEBC Act but concluded that the 16% reservation originally proposed was not justified. The court scaled it down to 12% for education and 13% for government jobs. However, in May 2021, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court struck down the 2018 law. The SC ruled that the state had failed to demonstrate 'extraordinary circumstances' required to breach the 50% reservation ceiling limit laid down in the 1992 Indra Sawhney (Mandal) verdict of the Supreme Court. So, on what basis did the government bring the SEBC Act, 2024? On February 20, 2024, the Maharashtra legislature unanimously passed the SEBC Bill, drawing from the findings of an MSBCC led by retired Justice Sunil Shukre. The Shukre Commission had concluded that the Maratha community qualified as being socially and educationally backward. It noted that there were 'exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations exist' to grant reservation to the 'entirely marginalised' Maratha community in excess of the 50% total reservation in the state. The Commission found an 'alarming' increase, from 0.32% to 13.7%, in the six years since 2018, in the rate of girl child marriages among Marathas. It also observed a substantial decline in the representation of Marathas in government services. The earlier Gaikwad Commission had surveyed 43,629 families from villages in 355 talukas where Marathas formed the majority. The Shukre Commission's survey was much wider, covering more than 1.58 crore families across Maharashtra. What has been argued before the High Court so far? The petitioners have argued that the 50% reservation cap could be breached only after Parliament amends the Constitution. They have argued that the 2024 Act has nothing new over the 2018 law — which has been struck down – other than the state's claim that the Shukre Commission's survey was wider. AG Saraf has justified the law, arguing that it has been formulated after rectifying the earlier reservation, and is based on guidelines laid down by the SC. He has argued that it is open to the state government to revisit the quota issue and to enact a law based on a detailed, large-scale survey.
United News of India
16-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
HC forms special bench to hear challenges to Maratha quota law
Mumbai, May 16 (UNI) In accordance with a Supreme Court directive, the Bombay High Court on Friday constituted a special three-judge bench to hear petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2024, which grants a 10 per cent reservation to the Maratha community in education and public employment. The newly formed full bench comprises Justices Ravindra Ghuge, NJ Jamadar, and Sandeep Marne, as per a notification issued on May 15. This bench will preside over all public interest litigations and civil writ petitions contesting the validity and implementation of the SEBC Act, 2024. The schedule for the hearings is yet to be announced. The move follows a Supreme Court order on May 14, which instructed the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court to urgently form a bench and expedite hearings on the matter, in light of the academic urgency cited by students appearing for the 2025 NEET undergraduate and postgraduate examinations. The apex court emphasized the need to consider interim relief for students potentially affected by the ongoing legal uncertainty surrounding the Maratha quota. The SEBC Act, enacted on February 20, 2024, by the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, is based on the findings of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission chaired by retired Justice Sunil Shukre. The commission concluded that "exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations" justified granting reservation to the Maratha community beyond the 50 per cent ceiling previously established by the Supreme Court. Petitioners have argued that the Maratha community does not meet the criteria for classification as a backward class and that the new law breaches the Supreme Court's cap on reservations. The legal debate is rooted in earlier challenges: a 2018 SEBC Act granting 16 per cent reservation to Marathas was upheld by the Bombay High Court but with reduced quotas, before being struck down entirely by the Supreme Court in May 2021. A subsequent review petition was dismissed in May 2023. The issue has been politically charged, dominating public discourse during the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The previous full bench, led by then Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya, had heard the matter extensively, with petitioners' arguments concluding in October 2024. However, hearings stalled after Chief Justice Upadhyaya's transfer to the Delhi High Court in January 2025, leaving the case in limbo until the formation of the new bench. The High Court had earlier passed interim orders stating that admissions and appointments under the Maratha quota would be subject to the outcome of the litigation. The new bench is expected to address both the merits of the law and the issue of interim relief for affected students in the coming sessions. UNI AAA PRS
