SC dismisses plea to review verdict quashing quota to Marathas

The Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of petitions, including the one filed by the Maharashtra government, seeking review of its 2021 judgment by which it had quashed the state law granting reservations to Marathas in admissions and government jobs.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, since retired, had on May 5, 2021 delivered the verdict on petitions related to Maharashtra government's decision to grant quotas to the politically influential community.

Observing that the Maratha quota violated the principle of right to equality, the top court had also refused to refer to a larger bench the plea seeking to revisit the 29 year old Mandal verdict putting a cap on reservation at 50 per cent.

The state government and others filed the review petitions in 2022 and sought the hearing in an open court.

A bench comprising justices M R Shah, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, S Ravindra Bhat and V Ramasubramanian considered the review pleas and dismissed them on April 11.

”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 bench ordered.

Earlier, the Constitution bench had passed the verdict quashing the quota for Marathas, saying the no ”extraordinary circumstances”  were made out in granting separate reservation to the Maratha community by exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling limit of reservation. 

It had said to change the 50 per cent limit is to have a society which is not founded on equality but based on caste rule and if the reservation goes above 50 per cent limit which is reasonable, it will be a slippery slope.

The judgment had come on a batch of pleas challenging the Bombay high court verdict which had upheld the grant of reservation to Marathas in admissions and government jobs in the state as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018.