Justice (Retired) Sunil Shukre has been appointed as the chairperson of the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC), filling the void left by the resignation of Anand Nirgude. The state government announced the appointment of Shukre, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, along with three new members—Om Prakash Jadhav, Maruti Shingare, and Machhindranath Tambe.
Sunil Balkrishna Shukre, with a decade-long tenure as a judge, retired on October 24 this year. Notably, Shukre was part of the delegation that met retired judge Jarange in Antarwali Sarati village, engaging in discussions with Manoj Jarange Patil to persuade him to end his fast.
The reshuffling of the commission comes after a series of resignations, including Anand Nirgude, Laxman Hake, and Balaji Killarikar, alleging “growing interference” of the state government in the functioning of the commission that has been looking into the issue of the backwardness of Marathas in the wake of the recent agitation for reservation for the community.
While Nirgude wrote to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on December 4 tendering his resignation, the Maharashtra government on December 9 conveyed to the member secretary of the Commission that the resignation has been accepted. In his resignation letter, Nirgude simply said: “I hereby tender my resignation as chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes. I express my gratitude for giving me this opportunity to work in this position.”
The Commission, a quasi-judicial authority, was asked by the Eknath Shinde-led government to “ascertain existence of exceptional circumstances and or extraordinary situations in the context of Maratha community justifying exceeding of the limit of 50% reservation as laid down in the judgements of the Supreme Court”.