Maha to set up panel to study SC order on Maratha reservation

THE STATE GOVT ALSO ASKED CHIEF SECRETARY TO TAKE A REVIEW OF RECRUITMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED DUE TO THE VERDICT

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Saturday announced to appoint a committee under two retired high court judges to review the recent Supreme Court judgment on Maratha reservation and suggest the way forward on the quota issue. The committee, comprising five to six other members including laws officers, is expected to submit its report in two weeks to the state government, a person aware of the development said.

The government also asked chief secretary Sitaram Kunte to take a review of the recruitments that have been affected due to the verdict. According to government officials, more than 3,000 people from the Maratha community were recruited in two years between November 2018 and September 2020. The decision to accord them permanent recruitment is still pending.

“There are hundreds of employees who were recruited on the basis of the reservation given in 2014, but currently are out of job because it was struck down by the Bombay high court. The review needs to be taken about them too. Chief secretary Sitaram Kunte has been asked to take a call on them with deliberation from the secretaries from other departments,” said an official from the general administration department.

Marathas were given 12% and 13% quota in education and government jobs, respectively, under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018. The supreme court on Wednesday quashed it, saying people from the community can’t be declared educationally and socially backward just to bring them in the reserved category. The five-judge bench also refused to refer the judgment in 1992 Indra Sawhney case, setting a 50% cap on reservation, to a larger bench for reconsideration.

The state cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation headed by public works department minister Ashok Chavan and comprising senior ministers, held a meeting on Saturday to take a call on future action. “The committee under retired judges will study the SC verdict minutely and give their observations and available legal remedy on the reservation. The state government will take its decision after the report is submitted in two weeks,” he said.