Mumbai: A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Bombay High Court on Friday challenging the Maharashtra government's decision to grant 10 per cent quota in jobs and education to the Maratha community.
The PIL, filed by advocate Jaishri Patil and others, said such a decision was taken by the government and opposition for the sake of "dirty politics" and termed the move as "destruction of the basic structure of the Constitution".
The decision was taken jointly by the state government and opposition without following the rules of fair play and due process, and is a "politically motivated" one to take reservations beyond 50 per cent without any extraordinary circumstance, the petition claimed. The plea claimed everyone was supporting reservation but no one had any sympathy that the open/general seats "remain only 38 per cent".
The Maharashtra legislature on February 20 unanimously passed the Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill 2024 providing 10 per cent reservation for the Maratha community in education and government jobs. It was tabled in the Assembly during a special one-day session by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The petition by Jaishri Patil urged the HC to quash the legislation since it would take the reservation limit to 72 per cent, adding that reservation becoming "majoritarian" was "destruction of the basic structure of the Constitution". It urged HC to declare the Maharashtra government's decision as "unconstitutional" as the 50 per cent limit on reservation has been breached without considering Supreme Court guidelines. The petition is expected to be heard in the coming days.
