Panel’s Maratha report is first specific survey: Counsel to HC

Mumbai: Arguments to justify

Maratha

reservations continued before the Bombay high court on Wednesday with special counsel Arif Bookwala stating that unlike surveys in the past, the Justice M B Gaikwad backward class commission had for the first time conducted a caste-specific survey.

A bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre is hearing petitioners who had challenged the validity of the 2018 law brought in by the state government to grant 16% reservation to Marathas as a socially and economically backward class (SEBC). Bookwala, representing a city-based advocate Vaibhav Kadam, who has filed an intervention in support of the reservation, argued against objections raised by the petitioners that the Gaikwad commission was arbitrary in only surveying Marathas while there were other communities that were backward too.

Bookwala said that the previous commissions had only made a passing reference to Marathas and this was the first time that such specific survey was undertaken. He showed the bench a chart to show the detailed analysis of all the commission reports so far. He also took the court through the geographical extent and historical aspects right to the Nizams to show that “very poor reach of education” in the region adversely affected the Marathas.

Referring to the interim stay by the HC on implementation of the earlier 2014 law promulgated by the state on Maratha reservations, Bookwala said such interim orders legally would have no impact or bearing on the new enactment of 2018.

Bookwala in his submissions had also said that historically there was no difference between Marathas and Kunbis, who currently get benefits under the Other Backward Class community (OBC) quota, but the Maratha community was not considered backward as they were considered warriors after they fought alongside Shivaji Maharaj.