Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday commenced hearing the final arguments in the petitions challenging the 16 per cent reservation granted to the Maratha community. The HC was informed the report submitted by the State Backward Class Commission (SBCC) recommending reservation to the Marathas is illegal.
A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre was also informed of the gross violation of the Maharashtra government guidelines in providing the reservation. Senior counsel Arvind Datar, appearing for one of the main petitioners, advocate Sanjeet Shukla, argued the government not only breached the orders of the Supreme Court but also violated the Constitutional provisions. “Article 16 of the Constitution provides every citizen equal opportunity in employment.
Even the Supreme Court has clearly said no state government can provide reservations by exceeding the 50 per cent limit. Despite this, the government has decided to exceed the 50 per cent cap,” Datar argued. “Also, this 50 per cent cap can be relaxed only in case of small states, but Maharashtra is one of the most prosperous states. Thus, the 50 per cent ceiling is reasonable. It is not a small state, like the ones in the Northeast,” Datar added.
Arguing for another petitioner, advocate Gunratan Sadavarte said the SBCC report is illegal, as amendments to the Constitution allow only the National Backward Class Commission (NBCC) to conduct such surveys. “In view of the fact that only the NBCC is allowed to scrutinise such material and make recommendations for reservation, the report of the SBCC is illegal,” Sadavarte argued.
“In fact, the approach of the SBCC is arbitrary despite the fact the panel was headed by a retired HC judge. The panel has conveniently excluded the members of SC/ST communities, which are way backward than the Marathas,” Sadavarte added. Notably, in its report, the commission has not compared the backwardness of the Marathas with that of the members of the SC/STs. The commission has only compared them with the members of the Kunbi community and the OBCs.
In his arguments, Sadavarte further said, “The commission has considered the fact that women of the Maratha community are engaged in fieldworks. But if we go by this fact then almost every community will be eligible for reservation, as women from their community still do fieldwork.” “The status of women here in this case would only indicate that the Marathas are weaker but would not establish the backwardness of the community,” Sadavarte added.
During the hearing, Sadavarte cited the decisions of the High Courts of Telangana, Rajasthan and the Supreme Court asking governments to maintain the 50 per cent limit. “Even the 2014 orders of this very court are binding upon the government, still they have breached the orders,” Sadavarte argued. Accordingly, Sadavarte urged the bench to quash all the certificates and also the advertisement calling for applications under the new quota.
