HC seeks govt’s reply on quota PILs

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked Maharashtra government to file an affidavit by August 19 in reply to a bunch of PILs challenging a recent Government Resolution (GR) granting reservations to Muslims and Marathas in educational institutions and jobs. The direction was given by a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka, which asked the petitioners to file rejoinders, if any, by August 22. The Congress-NCP government in June approved 16% reservation for Marathas and 5% for Muslims in government jobs and education institutions.The court also allowed one of the petitioners, Ketan Tirodkar, to amend his petition within a week to include the challenge to the recent GR on the issue.