- The Bombay High Court has upheld the Maharashtra government’s decision to provide reservation to the Maratha community under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act,2018.
- But the court reduced the 16% quota granted to the community to 12% in education and 13% in jobs as recommended by the State Backward Classes Commission(SBCC).
- The court said it was aware that granting the Maratha quota breached the 50% limit on caste-based quotas clamped by the Supreme Court in a landmark 1992 judgment.
- However,the court said that in exceptional circumstances,the 50% limit can be exceeded if it is based on quantifiable data.
- In 2018,the state government had constituted SBCC and asked it to submit a report on the Marathas.The report found that 6.77% of the community entered college,37% were below the poverty line and 71% were landless or marginal farmers.
- Further,this judgment has also led to Maharashtra having the second highest quantum of caste-based reservations in the country at 64-65% after Tamil Nadu.
Bombay High Court upholds reservation for Maratha community
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