In a setback to the Maratha community, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Bombay High Court verdict upholding the reservation to Marathas in public service and education.
A three-judge bench led by Justice L Nageswara Rao also referred the matter to a larger bench to decide the validity of the Bombay HC's order upholding the Maratha quota.
The bench comprising of Justices Hemant Gupta and S Ravindra Bhat also ordered the Maharashtra government not to grant reservation to the Maratha community for education and jobs for the year 2020-2021.
Now, the Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobade would constitute a larger bench to decide the validity of the Maratha quota.
The Bombay HC had in June 2019, upheld the constitutionality of the quota to Marathas, holding that the community was indeed back in terms of social and education.
The HC bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre had also ordered the state to provide 12 percent reservation in jobs and 13 percent in education, to the Marathas.
The order was challenged by advocate Sanjeet Shukla before the apex court bench led by Justice L Nageswara Rao.
