- Reservations decision taken to the Maratha community in the Maharashtra cabinet has received challenge in the Bombay High Court by public interest writ petition
- As per the decision 16 per cent reservation to the Maratha community in government jobs and educational institutions
- The public interest has filed a petition that government has categorised Marathas as ‘socially and educationally backward,’ which violated the Supreme Court order regarding the total quantum of reservations by doing so
- The petitioner, Ketan Tirodkar claimed that the community was traditionally powerful and wealthy owning land, sugar co-operatives and co-operative banks in the State
- Further Mr.Tirodkar pointed that majority of ministers were from the Maratha community and 72% co-operative institutions are controlled by the Marathas
- PIL stated D.Y. Patil, Patang Kadam, Kamalkishore Kadam, Pawars of Vidya Pratishthan had their “educational empires over thousands and thousands of acres of public land, pocketed from the government under the guise of public interest
- As per the judgment reservation being extreme form of protective measure or affirmative action that should be confined to minority of seats
- Though Constitution has no specification the principle of balancing equality ordains [that] reservation of any manner should not go beyond 50 per cent
- Read at: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/pil-challenges-quota-for-marathas/article6157020.ece
Exams Perspective: