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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
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
HC to hear afresh pleas against Maratha quota law from July 18
Mumbai: A special three-judge bench of Bombay high court will begin hearing afresh the challenges to state's latest iteration of the Maratha reservations on July 18. After the Supreme Court directive, HC, in May, constituted a new three-judge bench to hear the petitions, including those filed as public interest litigations, challenging the constitutional validity of the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2024, which provides 10% reservation for the Maratha community in govt jobs and admissions to educational institutions. The state opposed the request for consideration of any interim relief. The new full bench of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge, N J Jamadar, and Sandeep Marne on Wednesday recorded submissions of advocate general Birendra Saraf. There were detailed arguments heard in 2024 on interim relief, after which there was an interim arrangement that all further admissions to educational institutions and employment would be subject to court orders. Saraf submitted that this has operated for over a year and that the request for fresh consideration of interim relief was unwarranted. Pradeep Sancheti, senior counsel for a petitioner, sought an earlier date. Other lawyers also argued, saying students who took admission last year were also affected and hence, were seeking interim orders. In May, Supreme Court asked HC to expeditiously hear the pleas, including applications by students appearing for the undergraduate and postgraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test of 2025. The students filed pleas seeking interim relief, claiming that a delay in the disposal of pleas was impacting their right to equal consideration in the admission process. The petitions were not fully heard when the then HC Chief Justice was transferred in Jan as Delhi high court Chief Justice. Supreme Court said if Bombay HC cannot hear the matter for final disposal then it may consider interim relief. HC has now fixed a schedule to hear the matter at length on the main challenge. Last July, HC had observed that the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission, headed by former HC judge Justice S B Shukre, was a necessary party to be heard in one of the PILs filed before it.
The Print
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Special HC bench to hear afresh plea against Maratha reservation from July 18
A special bench comprising Justices Ravindra Ghuge, N J Jamadar and Sandeep Marne was constituted last month to hear and decide the public interest litigations and petitions related to the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2024. The interim order passed last year, whereby applications for admissions to educational institutions or jobs at government authorities taking benefit of the impugned Act will be subject to further orders in the present proceedings shall continue. Mumbai, Jun 11 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said it would hear afresh the pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the law providing Maratha reservation from July 18. The 2024 law, which provided 10 per cent reservation in education and government jobs to the Maratha community that constitutes nearly one-third of Maharashtra's population, had been at the forefront of political discourse last year during the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Last year, a full bench headed by former high court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya had commenced hearing into a bunch of petitions challenging 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 CJ Upadhyaya was transferred to Delhi High Court in January this year. On May 14, the Supreme Court directed the Bombay 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 HC in an interim order said that applications for NEET 2024 admission to undergraduate medical courses, wherein a 10 per cent reservation granted to members of the Maratha community is applicable, will 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 impugned 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 the 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 Maratha community in excess of 50 per cent total reservation in the state. Thereafter, petitions also challenged Shukre's appointment as MSBCC chairperson. In December 2018, a batch of petitions were filed in the Bombay 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 HC 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. PTI SP NP This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
New full HC bench to hear petitions challenging Maratha reservation law
Mumbai: Two days after the Supreme Court directive, Bombay High Court constituted a new three-judge bench to hear petitions, including those filed as public interest litigation (PIL), challenging the constitutional validity of the 2024 law providing Maratha reservation. HC is hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the SEBC Act , which gives 10% reservation to the Marathas in public employment. HC notified the full bench formation. Justice Ravindra V Ghuge, Justice N J Jamadar and Justice Sandeep Marne comprise the new full bench constituted to hear and decide the PIL and civil writ petition(s) pertaining to "Challenge or Matters relating to the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2024," the HC registry informed on Thursday. Earlier, the full bench comprised former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, and Justices G S Kulkarni and Firdosh P Pooniwalla. The petitions in the matter were not fully heard when the former Chief Justice of Bombay HC was transferred in Jan this year as the Chief Justice of Delhi HC. SC issued the direction while hearing a writ petition filed by NEET 2025 aspirants who challenged the implementation of the 10% Maratha quota, citing academic urgency and disruption in the admission process. — Swati Deshpande
