Don’t turn violent, Bombay HC tells Marathas, asks for panel report ‘expeditiously’

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday expressed its “anxiety” and sought a report in the Maratha reservation case “as expeditiously as possible considering the sensitivity of the issue.”
The report has to come from the Maharashtra Backward Classes Commission tasked with analyzing the data collected in support of a law that provides 16% reservation for the Maratha community in education and government jobs.
A bench of Justices Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhudessai, when informed of suicides that took place recently during the Maratha agitation, also made a request to the community not to resort to such extreme steps. The bench, taking note of the suicides, observed that the issue was sensitive and saying that “life is precious and it is a valuable life” asked lawyer Leena Patil, representing a Maratha activist, to inform the community that the matter was “sub-judice” before the HC, which is monitoring the progress. “We hope and pray that members of the community do not resort to violence or take extreme steps such as suicide,” said the bench, seeking a progress report from the commission by September 10, when the matter will next be heard.
The bench said, “This is a serious matter and concerns all of us. There should be restraint… can’t resort to violence and take law into own hands.” Activist Vinod Patil had moved HC to prepone a scheduled August 14 hearing to August 7 in view of the violent protests and suicides by Maratha youths demanding quota.
Former advocate general Ravi Kadam, with government pleader A B Vagyani, submitted an affidavit of the secretary, social justice department, and said the commission’s report could be expected early November. “The commission will take a decision after conducting a scientific analysis of data,” he said. The judges dictating their order said, “We hope it is done as expeditiously as possible.”
The HC had in June said, “This work (commission’s report) should not be delayed… Over a year has passed.” It had at the time accepted Kadam’s statement that the process of collecting data was in progress and five agencies appointed by the commission would complete data collection by July 31.
The survey work is over, said Kadam on Tuesday, adding the commission would have these reports and analysis of expert panel by September 5. The commission, set up in January 2017, will then have to analyse the data and submit its report. The commission also constituted a body of experts, including professors from the fields of statistics, social science and education, to analyse the nearly 2 lakh representations received at public hearings.
On February 9, 2018, the commission decided to conduct a survey to collect data on ‘social and educational backwardness of the community’ through five agencies: Chhatrapati Shivaji Prabhodhini Sanstha, Aurangabad; Rambhau Mhalgi Prabhodhini Sanstha, Mumbai; Sharda Consultancy Services, Nagpur; Gurukrupa Vikas Sanstha, Kalyan; and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune for different regions.