The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that there will be no Martha quota granted to Martha quota for jobs or college admissions in the state this year, sending the larger issue of the validity of such a quota to a larger bench. The court also referred the hearing on a batch of plea challenging the constitutional validity of a Maharashtra law granting Maratha reservation in education and jobs to a larger bench.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, will take a call on the constitution of the larger bench, the court said in response to petitions that challenged the law, arguing that the total quota now exceeds the 50 per cent cap set by the top court.
While the Supreme Court has halted jobs and admissions under the Maratha quota, admissions to Post-Graduate courses will not be altered, said the three-judge bench headed by Justice L Nageshwar Rao, Hemant Gupta and S Ravindra Bhat, which delivered the verdict.
The Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018 was enacted to grant 16 per cent reservation for Marathas in educational institutions and government jobs.
The Bombay High Court, while upholding the law in June last year, had held that 16 per cent reservation was not justifiable and said the quota should not exceed 12 per cent in employment and 13 per cent in admissions.
The politically dominant Maratha community, which constitutes over 30 per cent of the state's population, held several protests in the past demanding reservation in jobs and education.
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