The apex court was hearing on petitions challenging the Maharashtra law providing reservation to Marathas in jobs and admissions.

The Supreme Court, in an interim order Wednesday, ruled that Maratha quota would not be applicable in jobs and admissions this year. The court has also referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India to constitute a larger bench for further hearing.

However, the bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao said that admissions already made under the quota in post-graduate medical courses will remain unaffected.

The apex court was hearing petitions challenging the Maharashtra law that provides reservation to Marathas in jobs and admissions.

The petitions had challenged the Bombay High Court order of June 2019 which, while upholding the law, had also held that 16 per cent reservation was not justifiable and added that the quota should not exceed 12 per cent in employment and 13 per cent in admissions to government-run educational institutes.  The High Court in its verdict had relied heavily on findings of the 11-member Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC). In its reports submitted on November 15, 2018, the MSCCC had said that the Maratha community is socially, economically, and educationally backward.

Also Explained | Supreme Court hearings on Maratha quota

The Supreme court had earlier adjourned the hearing with the state undertaking not to make any fresh recruitments till September 15, 2020.

Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and P S Patwalia, appearing for the state government, had told a bench of Justices L N Rao, Hemant Gupta, and S Ravindra Bhat that the state had already decided by way of a Government Resolution on May 4 that no fresh recruitment will be made.

‘Black day’ for Marathas, says BJP

Calling it a black day It is a “black day” for Marathas, the BJP attacked the Maharashtra government, saying neither CM Uddhav Thackeray nor NCP chief Sharad Pawar paid attention to the matter.

State BJP president Chandrakant Patil said matters referred to the larger bench in the past have remained pending for years. “This means the stay will continue till the bench gives an order. Now there is no point in the community
protesting either, because nobody knows when the ruling will come. Therefore, it is a black day for the community,” PTI quoted Patil as saying.

“The MVA did not want the reservation. Which senior leader of theirs paid attention to the matter? Did Uddhav ji
or Sharad Pawar pay attention?” he asked.

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the efforts taken by the previous BJP-led government for the “all-round development” of the community had been “undone”. “The (MVA) government could have kept the quota intact had it taken steps by taking everyone into confidence. But this government has not been serious about the issue from the beginning,” he alleged.

Party MP Narayan Rane accused the state government of not willing to give the quota to the community. “They did not appoint any renowned lawyer to contest their case as they were not willing to give the quota. They appointed two ordinary lawyers,” he alleged.