Thankfully, the Supreme Court today came to rescue India from a likely situation of social and political unrest on the highly surcharged issue of special reservation for the Maratha community in academic admissions and government jobs. The Supreme Court has finally struck down Maharashtra’s special quota for the Maratha community and ruled out a review of the 50 per cent cap on the reservation as it laid down in 1992. The decision will have far-reaching implications in India and in states politics that would have opened a Pandora Box where many social and political classes would queue up for similar demands. At least, it puts the political class across the country in a quandary.
Now, with setting aside of the Maharashtra BJP-Shiv Sena Govt recommendation that had favoured reservation for Marathas, the SC judgment comes as the final blow to halt any further move on one of the hottest issues in state politics. The Tamilnadu government had already by enacting local law crossed the limit of 50 per cent in the reservation to 69 per cent reservation in admissions and in public services which is arbitrary, unreasonable and excessive. This law is also being examined by the Apex Court on the plea that this excessive reservation is seriously affecting general category students and candidates to the public services.
Importantly, the five-judge Constitution bench find no merit in referring the issue to a larger bench for revisiting the statutory limit on the reservation in educational institutions and jobs. It also found no ‘exceptional circumstances’ justifying for crossing the 50 per cent ceiling in reservation quota through enabling local legislation passed in of 2018, which had been upheld by the Bombay High Court.
In 1992, a nine-judge bench of the Apex Court had already settled for reservation in jobs and education at 50 per cent, except in ‘extraordinary circumstances’. While refusing to reconsider the landmark verdict and by quashing the Maharashtra law granting quota to the Maratha community in admissions and government jobs — that allowed it to exceed 60 per cent — the Supreme Court has shown some sense to governments and parties pandering to vote bank politics.
Sending a clear message that people from the Maratha community cannot be declared as educationally and socially backwards to bring them within the reserved category since it would be a violation of not only the due process of law but also the right to equality.
A pertinent question that would be hard-pressed to answer as to how several state governments, quoting Tamil Nadu 69 per cent quota despite facing a challenge in SC, would not encourage pandering reservations for their own politically classified sections in their respective states. Such local legislation passed on these invalid lines defeat the very purpose of reservation.
