Mumbai: Muslims will not get the five percent reservations in Maharashtra government jobs as announced by the erstwhile Congress-NCP government just before Assembly polls last year, it was officially announced here on Wednesday.
An ordinance to this effect (providing a five percent job quota) lapsed on December 23 last year," a Maharashtra government resolution said.
"Considering this fact, the concerned government resolution issued on July 24 last year is being scrapped," the government resolution said.
In June last year, then ruling Congress-NCP had announced 5% reservations for Muslims and 16 % reservations for Maratha community in government jobs and educational institutions, just ahead of the October 15 Assembly polls, a decision which was challenged in the High Court.
The quota was given through two separate categories, namely the Educationally and Socially Backward Category (ESBC) for Marathas as well as a Special Backward Class (Muslims) segment for the Muslims.
The HC in its decision stayed the decision of the erstwhile Congress-NCP governmen to provide reservation to Muslims in jobs, but allowed quota for them in educational institutions while simultaneously staying the Maratha reservation.
The Maharashtra state government had challenged the Bombay High Court order in the Supreme Court, which refused to interfere with the interim decision of the High Court but asked the Maharashtra state government to go back to the Bombay High Court on the issue.On January 5, this year, the Bombay High Court gave three
weeks to the Maharashtra state government to file an affidavit submitting data to justify its decision to provide reservations to Marathas and Muslims in jobs as well as educational institutions.
Earlier, the Bombay High Court had said that the Supreme Court had already laid down the law for reservation as per which it cannot exceed 50 percent of the total seats.
In fact, 52 percent of seats in government jobs and educational institutions are already reserved for targeted groups.
However, in the run up to the Maharashtra Assembly poll, the erstwhile Congress-NCP government had raised reservations to 73 percent by announcing a 16 percent quota for Marathas and a five percent quota for Muslims.
( With PTI inputs)
