Supreme Court strikes down Maratha quota

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled the reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the Maratha community brought in by Maharashtra in 2018, saying it exceeded the 50 per cent cap imposed earlier.

A five-judge bench examining the constitutional validity of the 16 per cent reservation brought in by the earlier BJP government in Maharashtra said the move violated equality. The bench comprised Justices Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, S Abdul Nazeer, Hemant Gupta, and S Ravindra Bhat.

"States have no power to add any caste to socially economically backward caste list due to the amendment made by parliament," the court observed. "States can only identify the castes and suggest to the Centre...Only President can add the caste to SEBC list guided by the National Backward Classes Commission," it said. The Apex court, however, said all admissions made to post-graduate medical courses and appointments already made under the new quota law shall not be disturbed by its Wednesday ruling.

The constitution bench also said there was no need to revisit the 50 per cent cap on reservation imposed by the Supreme Court in the 1992 Mandal judgment. In 2018, the BJP government in Maharashtra had passed the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act that provided 16 per cent reservation to the Maratha community.