Maratha Reservation: Fadnavis blames MVA govt over SC's verdict striking down reservation for Marathas

The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday has struck down the reservation for Maratha community in education/ jobs exceeding 50%. A five-judge Constitution Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, S Abdul Nazeer, Hemant Gupta and Ravindra Bhat while pronouncing the judgment said that there was no valid ground to breach 50% reservation while granting Maratha reservation. Justice Bhushan, reading out the judgment said, we do not find any reason in revisiting Indira Sawhney judgment. Justice Bhushan said that with respect to Article 342-A, we have upheld the Constitutional Amendment and it does not violate any Constitutional provision and therefore, we have dismissed the writ petition challenging the Maratha Reservation. SC also made it clear in its judgement that people from the Maratha community cannot be declared as educationally and socially backward community to bring them within the reserved category.

After this, the opposition has targeted the Thackeray government. Devendra Fadnavis has suggested that the government should set up a committee of senior lawyers from the Supreme Court and the High Court to resolve the Maratha reservation. Fadnavis has given this advice while interacting with journalists. A committee of senior advocates from the Supreme Court and the High Court should be set up. Fadnavis has suggested that the committee should be asked to prepare a report after studying what can be done on the Maratha reservation and this report should be presented in the all-party meeting.

Ex-Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis remarked, "This is a very disappointing development. When we gave the reservation, the case went to the High Court and the HC held this reservation to be constitutional. Thereafter, it went to the Supreme Court when I was the Chief Minister. The then CJ refused to stay the law."

"Normally, an ordinance is stayed. The law is not stayed. But this law was stayed and it was struck down today. The state government did not pay requisite attention to this case. We did not see cooperation between the state government and lawyers. On many occasions, the state government's senior counsels had to inform the Supreme Court that they hadn't got any instructions," he added.