PIL on Maratha quota can wait for few more days, tells Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Thursday said a petition challenging the Maharashtra governments move to issue Kunbi certificates to Marathas could wait for a few more days for hearing on the plea considering the caste certificates were being issued since November 2023The court made the remarks after Mangesh Sasane who claims to be the chairman of the OBC Welfare Foundation sought an urgent hearing on his public interest litigation PIL filed earlier this weekA division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor noted that once a fresh petition is filed and numbered before the HCs registry it is normally taken up for hearing within four days as per the new autolisting systemAs per the HCs website the petition would be taken up for hearing on February 6The PIL claimed that the state government by granting Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community members was eating into the reservation of the Other Backward Classes OBCsOn Thursday Sasanes advocate Ashish Mishra mentioned the plea before the bench and sought an urgent hearingThis PIL challenges various government resolutions issued by the Maharashtra government since 2004 The latest resolutions issued last year have eased out the process under which Kunbi caste certificates are granted to members from the Maratha community Mishra saidWhen the high court said the plea would be taken up for hearing in a few days Mishra said each day several certificates are being issuedChief Justice Upadhyaya then asked since when the Kunbi caste certificates were being issued to the Maratha community members to which Mishra said since November 2023You have waited since then Can you not wait for a few more days We will take it up It petition will come up for hearing CJ Upadhyaya saidThe PIL challenges five government resolutions GRs issued from 2004 permitting the Marathas to seek Kunbi caste certificatesIt claimed that earlier the processscrutiny before granting Kunbi certificates to Marathas was strict but with every agitation by the Maratha community members seeking quota the process was diluted and made easierMembers of the Maratha community are rich and in fact most of the ministers and chief ministers are from this community it futher claimedThe Maratha community is socially and economically forward and is socially and politically active and hence they should not be allowed to misuse their statusposition the PIL saidHowever the Kunbi community is a socially backward community that has been treated oppressively in the society it saidThe petition claimed local Maratha leaders are taking advantage of the draft notification and are influencing the competent authority to issue Kunbi caste certificates to distant relatives of persons from the Maratha communityIt said the opportunities that were available to persons belonging to the OBC category have now turned into a full benefit for the Maratha communityThe PIL sought that the court quash all the GRs including the recent draft notification and by way of an interim order stay the issuance of certificates to the Maratha community under the Kunbi casteOn January 20 Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange began a march to Mumbai from Antarwali Sarathi in Jalna demanding issuance of Kunbi certificates to all Marathas which would entitle them to benefits under the quota earmarked for the OBCsThe state government recently issued a draft notification stating that blood relatives of a Maratha person who has records to show he belongs to the Kunbi community would also be recognised as KunbiAn agrarian community Kunbi falls in the OBC category and Jarange spearheading the agitation for reservation for the Marathas since last August has been demanding Kunbi certificates for all Marathas to enable them to avail quota benefits in government jobs and educationSoon after the government issued the notification the activist called off his march to MumbaiThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever