MARATHA QUOTA: PANEL’S REPORT SCIENTIFIC, HIGH COURT TOLD

MUMBAI: The Gaikwad commission report, which became the basis to grant 16% reservation to Marathas under the socially and educationally backward class (SEBC) category, was accurate, scientific and much-needed, petitioners arguing in support of the quota told the Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday.

According to the petitioners, the state deemed it necessary to have a separate survey for the community, as the previous commissions’ reports were not castebased and made only a passing reference to Marathas. Contesting the argument that the report was arbitrary because it only included members from the community, the petitioners said the Gaikwad commission looked at 48 parameters, which was never done in the past.

Lawyer Arif Bookwala, who appeared for petitioner Vaibhav Kadam, told a bench of justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre that Marathas had been discriminated against and their status was misconstrued since 1881. “The previous surveys – Kaka Kalelkar Commission, Deshmukh Commission, Mandal Commission, Bapat Commission, Khatri Commission, the National Commission of Backward Classes and the Rane Committee – only looked at the economic status of communities, hence terming Marathas forward,” said Bookwala. The court directed the petitioners to complete arguments by Friday. However, petitioners opposing the reservation through advocate Pradip Sancheti sought permission to argue on Monday, which the court permitted. K A Y DODHIYA