SC dismisses Maha govt's review for 2021 verdict quashing Maratha quota

New Delhi, April 21 The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea by the Maharashtra government seeking review of its May 5, 2021 judgment, which struck down a state law providing a 12 to 13 percent quota for Maratha community.

A five-judge bench comprising Justices M.R. Shah, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, S. Ravindra Bhat and V. Ramasubramanian declined to entertain the plea by the state government seeking a relook at the judgment.

The bench, in its order, said: "Permission to file the review petition is granted. Delay condoned. Applications for listing of the review petitions in the open court are rejected. Having carefully gone through the review petitions, the judgment under challenge and the papers annexed therewith, we are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record, warranting reconsideration of the judgment impugned. The review petitions are, accordingly, dismissed. Pending applications stand disposed of."

The matter was considered inside the judges' chamber as per the Supreme Court Rules with regard to review petition and the top court took decision on the matter on April 11. However, the order was uploaded on the apex court website only on April 20.

The apex court had earlier dismissed a plea by the Central government to reconsider the May 5, 2021 judgment. The apex court had declared that states do not have the power to prepare lists for socially and educationally backward classes.

The decision had also deprived states of their power to declare OBCs for the purpose of reservation in jobs and education, and the court had conferred the President with the sole power to identify a community as backward.

The top court struck down the Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018, for having breached the 50 per cent cap fixed by a nine-judge bench in 1992 in Indra Sawhney case (Mandal Commission).