Bombay HC issues notice to state backward class commission

Representational image. Pic/iStock

The Bombay High Court hearing petitions challenging the state government's decision to grant a 10 per cent quota to Marathas on Wednesday issued a notice to the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) making it a party respondent.

A full bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice G S Kulkarni and Justice Firdosh Pooniwalla impleaded the commission and issued a notice, a day after noting that the MSBCC was a necessary party to the pleas as some of them had also challenged the commission's report recommending reservation.

The bench last week started hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2024, under which a 10 per cent quota was granted to the Maratha community in government jobs and education.

Some of the petitions also challenged the setting up of the MSBCC headed by Justice Sunil Shukre (retired), its methodology, and the report recommending reservation for Marathas.

One of the petitioners, Bhausaheb Pawar, on Monday, filed an application seeking the commission to be made a party respondent in the plea.

The petitions had challenged the validity of the Act on the ground that the Maratha community was not backward and hence does not require benefits of reservation and also claimed Maharashtra has already crossed the 50 per cent cap on reservation.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on July 10.

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