The Home Department has cancelled the notification issued on January 4 to provide relief to Maratha students under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) in police recruitment. Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said the department will issue a new notification to enable SEBC students to avail benefits under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). This was necessary as the state cabinet has decided to provide benefits to the Maratha community under the EWS quota after the reservation was stayed by the apex court. 10 per cent EWS quota is earmarked for those who are not covered under any social reservations.
Pro-Maratha reservation bodies had opposed the police recruitment, citing the apex court’s stay on 12% quota in education and 13% in the government jobs.
Deshmukh said that the SEBC candidates, who had applied for the post of Police Peon during the recruitment process in 2019, would be covered by a fresh notification as they could avail the benefit of the state government’s decision to provide benefits under the EWS quota.
Deshmukh said that, as per the January 4 notification, police recruitment was to be done without keeping the SEBC quota. However, for those who had applied from the SEBC category, the eligibility would have been fixed based on the age limit applicable for the open category. It was further proposed that candidates who meet the conditions of the open category will be appointed under the same category.
Deshmukh’s announcement is important as the state government has said that the EWS quota is for everyone from the open/general category, who is economically weaker. “This quota is not solely for the Maratha community, but the SEBC reservation is meant for the Maratha community,'' said Ashok Chavan, who is the public works minister and the cabinet subcommittee chairman on the Maratha quota issue.
