Maratha Reservation To Cross SC Ceiling, Though Reduced

The Maharashtra government has decided to cross the 50% reservation ceiling by granting 10% educational and governmental job reservation to the Maratha community. Already, the state’s total reservation is around 52%. Chief minister Eknath Shinde has said that 22 states in the country have crossed the ceiling so far. While moving a resolution to grant Maratha reservation, Shinde said the quota in Tamil Nadu was 69% whereas it was 75% in Bihar. The Maratha reservation demand was first raised in 1980. It was first granted in 2014 and then in 2018. While the first reservation was struck down by the Mumbai High Court, the second was rejected by the Supreme Court. Explaining this history, Shinde claimed that this time, the provision has been structured in such a manner that it will survive judicial scrutiny. He said nearly six lakh objections and suggestions have been received over the draft of the resolution, made public earlier. The Maratha reservation quantum, however, has been reducing in the state. While the 2014 reservation quota was recommended to be 16%, it was suggested by the High Court that the educational quota should be 12% and governmental job quota could be 13%. The reservation now will be 10%, if allowed by the court of law.