Maratha Reservation Row: Parents to Move Court Against Quota Due to Reduction in College Seats in Open Category

Mumbai: Parents are once again approaching the  Court against the 10 percent reservations in educational institutions and government jobs in the state for socially and educationally backward communities to ensure that Marathas get the benefit of reservation.

The reservation decision came into effect on February 26. The parents have decided to challenge the reservation decision as it will reduce 10 percent of seats in the open category. Parents of medical students have taken the initiative for this. The 10 percent reservation will reduce 400 seats in undergraduate courses in open-category government colleges and 300 seats in private colleges.

There are very few seats available for postgraduate courses in medicine. Reservations are going to have a big impact there. Sudha Shenoy, a representative of the parents, said they had no option but to challenge the decision in court. The state government has invoked a caveat in the high court to prevent a stay on the decision. So our fight won't be easy. We will have to file this petition for the future of the children," Shenoy said.

A three-year court battle
The Supreme Court had earlier set aside the reservation implemented in 2014 and 2018, holding that the Maratha community was not backward. Parents had to fight for three years against the reservation implemented in 2018.

62 percent total reservation
With the enactment of a law to implement 10 percent reservation for the Maratha community, the reservation given by the state government to various social groups has now increased to 62 percent. It was earlier 52 percent. According to the Supreme Court verdict, reservation has to be implemented within the 50 percent limit.  Therefore, the challenge will be to uphold the Maharashtra government's 62 percent reservation on the test of law.

Financial assistance necessary rather than reservations
"Smart, promising but poor students don't need any reservation. If there's one thing they need, it's financial help. Many students succeed in getting into a good college based on their marks. However, many students cannot even afford to pay the fees of government colleges, let alone private ones. So instead of playing with the future of students by implementing reservation, the government should take the lead in providing financial assistance to bright but poor students."
- Sudha Shenoy, parent