HIGH COURT LOADED POSER TO STATE

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to clarify whether it would consider the reservation granted to Maratha community in its upcoming mega recruitment scheme. The HC has asked the government to spell out its stand by next week, so that an appropriate order could be passed.

A division bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice Makarand Karnik also directed the government to clarify if it wanted to table the report prepared by the State Backward Class Commission (SBCC), recommending reservation for Marathas.

The judges were hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the newly-passed bill granting 16 per cent reservation to Marathas in government jobs and education.

Former Advocate General Shrihari Aney, appearing for one of the petitioners, argued that the report of the SBCC could not be treated as a confidential document.

Countering the argument, the government's counsel told the bench that an action taken report had been tabled before the house, not the entire report submitted by the commission. Aney, along with advocates Pradeep Sancheti and Gunaratan Sadavarte, urged the bench to stay the recruitment scheme of the government. "We are not against the overall recruitment scheme. We only want the government to exclude the 16 per cent category from the said recruitment process, at least till this court decides the issue," Aney submitted. Having heard the submissions, CJ Patil said, "We grant one week's time to the government to clarify its stand whether it would include the 16 per cent quota in its recruitment scheme or not." "The government has to further clarify if it will hand over a copy of the SBCC report to all the petitioners and submit a copy before this court," CJ Patil said. The bench will hear the matter on next Tuesday.