A division bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday recused itself from hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Maharashtra government’s September 2 government resolution (GR) that implemented the Hyderabad Gazette and allowed issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas from the Marathwada region. The certificates would entitle them to reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
The bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Sandesh Dadasaheb Patil declined to hear the five petitions without assigning any reason and directed the registry to place the matters before an appropriate bench. The cases are now expected to be heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar along with Justice Gautam Ankhad.
The petitions were filed by Maharashtra Mali Samaj Mahasangh, Ahir Suvarnakar Samaj Sanstha, Sadanand Bapu Mandlik of Samata Parishad, Maharashtra Nabhik Mahamandal, and the Kunbi Sena. All petitioners have sought quashing of the GR or a direction to the government to withdraw it.
The Kunbi Sena, in its plea, argued that the resolution unlawfully altered the criteria for issuing caste certificates to three categories — Kunbi, Kunbi Maratha, and Maratha Kunbi. Calling the resolution “unconstitutional,” it contended that the move violated the right to equality of existing OBC communities and lacked legislative competence under Article 342A of the Constitution.
Article 342A, introduced by the Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, 2018, empowers the President to notify socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC). A subsequent 2021 amendment allowed state governments to prepare their own SEBC lists distinct from the Central list. The petitioners maintained that the Maharashtra government’s GR went beyond its authority and infringed upon constitutional provisions.
The petitions also alleged that the GR arbitrarily conferred OBC benefits upon a politically and socially advanced community, thereby violating Article 14 of the Constitution. They further warned that the move could adversely affect more than 260 castes and clans currently recognized as OBCs, many of whom lack adequate representation in state policies and governance.
The September 2 GR was issued in the wake of an intense five-day agitation led by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, who demanded reservation benefits for the Maratha community. While the resolution sought to address these demands by extending Kunbi certificates to eligible Marathas in the Marathwada region, several OBC organizations swiftly opposed the move.
The petitioners argued that no government has the authority to add one community into another’s caste category and described the GR as an arbitrary political compromise. With the division bench recusing itself, the matter will now come up before the Chief Justice-led bench for further consideration.
