The Bombay High Court on Tuesday declined to grant an interim stay on petitions challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to members of the Maratha community who can establish their OBC lineage.
A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad briefly heard five petitions filed by organisations and individuals from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. The petitioners argued that extending Kunbi certificates to Maratha community members would ultimately lead to their inclusion in the OBC category, affecting existing OBC quotas.
One of the petitioners sought a stay on the government’s decision as an interim measure. The bench, however, said it was not inclined to grant such relief at this stage.
“We are at this stage not elaborating upon the issues raised by the petitioners and would hence decline to grant any interim relief,” the bench stated.
The court issued notice to the Maharashtra government and directed it to file an affidavit in response to the petitions. The matter has been listed for further hearing after four weeks.
Advocate General Birendra Saraf, representing the state, opposed the pleas. He contended that the petitioners were not “aggrieved persons” since the government resolution did not directly affect them.
The government resolution (GR), issued on September 2, allows eligible members of the Maratha community who can prove their OBC antecedents to apply for Kunbi caste certificates. This move followed a five-day protest by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. The GR implements the Hyderabad gazetteer to facilitate the identification of eligible individuals.
The petitions were filed by Kunbi Sena, Maharashtra Mali Samaj Mahasangh, Ahir Suvarnkar Samaj Sanstha, Sadanand Mandalik, and Maharashtra Nabhik Mahamandal. They described the government’s decision as “arbitrary, unconstitutional, and bad in law,” seeking its quashing.
Kunbi Sena argued that the resolutions altered the criteria for issuing caste certificates for Kunbi, Kunbi Maratha, and Maratha Kunbi communities. The petitioners said the resolutions were vague and would lead to “utter chaos.”
“The decision is a circuitous method of granting caste certificates to the Maratha community from Other Backward Classes by a confusing and vague procedure, which is inclusion of the community in the OBC category,” one of the petitions stated.
