New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the Maratha community is in the mainstream of national life and it is not disputed that they are a politically dominant caste.

The top court said that Marathas are adequately and satisfactorily represented in public services and their representation in Grade A, B, C, and D categories comes to an average of over 30 per cent in open category posts.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said, "One community bagging such a number of posts in public services is a matter of pride for the community and its representation in no manner can be said to be inadequate in public services."

It said that the case of Maratha does not satisfy the extra-ordinary situations as indicated in 1992 Indra Sawhney verdict which capped the quotas at 50 per cent.

"The Marathas are in the mainstream of national life. It is not even disputed that Marathas are politically dominant caste," it said, adding that both the State Backward Classes Commission and the Bombay High Court fell in error in treating as exception circumstances, the fact that population of backward class is 85 per cent in the state and reservation limit is only 50 per cent.

"The extraordinary circumstance as opined by the Commission and approved by the high court is not an extraordinary situation as referred to in... Indra Sawhney judgment. The Marathas are a dominant forward class and are in the mainstream of National life," it said.

The bench also comprising justices L N Rao, S Abdul Nazeer, Hemant Gupta and S Ravindra Bhat quashed the Maharashtra government law granting quota to Marathas in education and in jobs saying it violated the principle of right to equality.  

It said that the Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) (Admission in Educational Institutions in the State and for posts for appointments in public service and posts) Reservation Act, 2018 violates the principle of equality as enshrined in Article 16.  

"The exceeding of the ceiling limit without there being any exceptional circumstances clearly violates Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution which makes the enactment ultra vires," it said.

It held that no "extraordinary circumstances" were made out in granting separate reservation of Maratha community by exceeding the 50 per cent ceiling limit of reservation.

It said that to change the 50 per cent limit is to have a society which is not founded on equality but based on caste rule and if the reservation goes above 50 per cent limit which is reasonable, it will be a slippery slope, the political pressure, make it hardly to reduce the same.

The top court observed that "when more people aspire for backwardness instead of forwardness, the country itself stagnates which situation is not in accord with constitutional objectives".  PTI MNL SJK

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)