DNA Edit: Partial relief - Maharashtra govt move gives Maratha students raised hopes

Maharashtra legislature’s nod to amend the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act 2018 has given partial relief to 250 Maratha students to get admission in postgraduate medical and dental courses in the current academic year. This has also raised hopes of nearly 1,800 eligible Maratha students from undergraduate medical courses to get quota under SEBC category.

The government has completed a formality by sanctioning the validation of admission. It was necessitated as the government had issued an ordinance in May after the Supreme Court had upheld the Bombay High Court’s order dismissing the applicability of SEBC quotas for the current academic year for PG medical and dental courses.

The government should have done its homework properly while passing the SEBC Act in November last year and then the subsequent amendment. Even though the admission process has begun, the government has just made an announcement of creating 2,000 seats for MBBS students and its plea made to the Union health ministry to create more seats for PG students. Already, the admission of PG medical and dental courses has been completed on June 17 as per the extension granted by the Supreme Court.

However, the students from general category have argued that the government has no powers to grant reservation to Marathas, especially after an amendment to the Constitution by which special powers were conferred upon the President to include or exclude communities on the list of reservations.

The legal counsels appearing for the open category students have argued that the government has breached orders of the Supreme Court by which the top court has directed all states not to exceed 50% limit for reserved categories.

Maharashtra’s total percentage of reservation has surged to 78%. The state government has said it has full powers to go beyond the 50% limit in giving reservation to the Marathas. The government has also clarified that the reservation was not granted for political purposes. Instead, it was for the development of the community, which the State Backward Class Commission (SBCC) concluded to be “socially and educationally” backward.

In such circumstances, the fate of PG and undergraduate students from medical and dental courses still hangs in balance as the very enactment of SEBC Act providing 16% quota to Maratha community has yet to pass the test of law. The Bombay High Court has reserved its order while the SC has sought a response from the state on a plea challenging an order of HC dismissing a plea against 16% quota for Marathas in admission to PG medical and dental courses.

The matter is to be heard on Monday by the SC. This apart, the government may have to face another legal battle as the students from general category are mulling challenging the amendment to the SEBC Act. So we are where we were.  The fate of both the SEBC Act and the validating Act will be decided by courts.