Bombay HC seeks Maharashtra Govt reply on plea challenging scrapping of muslim quota

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to respond to a petition challenging its decision to cancel five per cent reservation in education and jobs for the Muslim community. A bench of Justices R I Chagla and Advait Sethna asked the state government to file its response through an affidavit in three weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on May 4.

The petition filed by advocate Syed Ejaz Abbas Naqvi challenged the government resolution (GR) of February 17 issued by the Department of Social Justice and Special Aid of Maharashtra, terming it as being violative of the Constitution and against the interests of the Muslim community. Naqvi called the government's move "racial discrimination".

"The respondent (Maharashtra government) is practicing racial discrimination with the persons of a minority community i.e. the Muslim community. This is in violation of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution," the plea said, adding there is no rationale behind the government's decision to scrap the quota.

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As per the plea, in July 2014, the then Congress-NCP government had announced a 16 per cent reservation for the Maratha community and a five per cent quota for Muslims in government jobs and education, placing them under the Socially and Economically Backward Class category. The ordinance giving effect to this decision was challenged in the HC, which struck down the reservation for jobs but allowed the five per cent quota for the Muslim community in education, the plea said.

As per the February 17 GR, all previous decisions and the ordinance related to the five per cent reservation in government and semi-government jobs and educational institutions for the socially and educationally backward Muslim group, included under the Special Backward Category (A), have been cancelled.

The government has cancelled the earlier decisions and circulars from 2014 and stopped issuing caste and non-creamy layer certificates to Muslims in the Special Backward Category, the new order said.