An interim stay order was imposed on quotas in jobs and education to Marathas by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The matter was also referred to a larger bench headed by Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde to examine if the law which breached the 50% apex-court mandated cap in caste-based reservation is legal.
The Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act (SEBC Act) of 2018 had provided 12% quota in education and 13% in jobs to Marathas. The Bombay HC had said in 2018 the 50% cap can be breached in exceptional circumstances if the quota was based on quantifiable data. After the HC order the petitioners moved to SC and contended that the law breached the 50% reservation threshold prescribed in the 1992 Indra Sawhney vs Union of India case and various parties sought reference of the case to a bench of 11 judges to conclusively settle the issue.
Political leaders in Maharashtra called this order ‘unexpected and shocking’.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called it a “black day” for Marathas.