The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a batch of public interest litigations (PILs) challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to members of the Maratha community for availing reservation benefits. The court held that the petitioners were not “aggrieved persons” and therefore lacked the legal standing to pursue such challenges.
A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad noted that persons directly affected by the decision—members of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs)—had already filed petitions before the High Court. These cases are slated to be heard on September 22 by a bench headed by Justice Revati Mohite Dere.
“At this stage, these public interest litigations are thoroughly misconceived. It was open for the aggrieved persons (to challenge the government decision), not for any person,” the bench observed. The judges added that “malice in law can be taken up only by aggrieved persons,” clarifying that the present petitioners did not fall into that category.
The bench said the PILs “ought to be dismissed” but left room for the petitioners to file applications in the pending petitions brought by OBC representatives. “If the other bench feels that it requires these petitioners’ assistance, then it may decide to hear them,” the court said. The matter was posted for further hearing later in the day, with the PIL petitioners directed to indicate their next steps.
Three PILs were filed in the High Court, contending that the government’s move to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members was arbitrary, unconstitutional, and “bad in law.” The petitioners argued that the decision, if implemented, would distort the state’s reservation structure.
In response, four separate petitions were later filed by OBC individuals, challenging the same government resolution on grounds of dilution of their reservation benefits. These petitions will form the crux of the upcoming hearing before Justice Dere’s bench.
The Maharashtra government’s decision followed an indefinite hunger strike launched by quota activist Manoj Jarange at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from August 29. Jarange and his supporters paralysed several parts of the city during the agitation, prompting strong remarks from the Bombay High Court about the disruption caused.
On September 2, the state issued a government resolution (GR) based on the Hyderabad gazetteer, announcing the formation of a committee to facilitate the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas who can produce historical documentary evidence showing they were recognised as Kunbis.
This move sparked unease among OBC groups, who fear that allowing Marathas to claim Kunbi certificates will reduce their share of quotas in education and government jobs. The social justice and special assistance department’s GR has therefore become the focal point of both political and legal contestation.
