The Supreme Court is expected to take up for hearing a review petition on January 12 filed in June last year by the Maratha Kranti Morcha coordinator Vinod Patil challenging its May 5 order scrapping the 12% quota in education and 13% in government jobs to the Maratha community in Maharashtra provided under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018.
Patil, who has challenged the apex court ruling that the state has no powers to enact law, referred to the 102nd Amendment of the Constitution passed by the parliament saying that it did not affect the power of the State Legislature to determine socially and educationally backward category or backward classes of citizens as envisaged by Articles 15 (4) and 16(4) of the Constitution.
‘’If as per the 102nd Amendment, the state has powers then in that case the SEBC Act 2018 is legally valid and the state can say that it has been enacted under ‘’exceptional circumstances,’’ said Patil.
‘’The effective authority of the State behind identification of reserved class has been thus taken away and the said reasoning of the majority judgment overlooks the effect that if the 102nd amendment is so understood then it takes away a constitutional power of State under art 15 & 16 which is in part III of the constitution thereby the same would completely destroy the basic structure /affect federal polity,’’ submitted Patil.
Patil has challenged the SC’s observation that the quota for Maratha community crosses the 50% ceiling. Besides, he has also prayed that the apex court needs to reconsider its decision to strike down the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018 proposing a quota for the Maratha community. The Act was passed by the state legislature and it was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.
