The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear a plea in July 2025 concerning the Maratha reservation issue in Maharashtra. This development follows the Bombay High Court's decision to re-examine the validity of the law providing a 10% quota to the Maratha community in education and government jobs. The hearing is expected to take place during the week commencing July 14, 2025.
The matter was brought before a bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and N. Kotiswar Singh for urgent listing. The counsel involved referred to a June 11, 2025, order by the Bombay High Court, which decided to freshly hear pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the law from July 18, 2025. The lawyer informed the Supreme Court that the High Court had declined to grant any interim relief and would proceed with the hearings.
This legal challenge is not new. In 2018, the Maharashtra government passed the SEBC Act, granting reservations to the Maratha community, classifying them as "Socially and Educationally Backward." However, in 2021, the Supreme Court overturned this law, asserting that Marathas did not qualify as a backward group under the Constitution. The Supreme Court stated that no exceptional circumstances existed to justify exceeding the 50% reservation cap, a limit established in the 1992 Indra Sawhney case. A review petition by the Maharashtra government was also rejected in May 2023.
In 2024, Maharashtra introduced a new reservation law based on the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Commission's report, which identified the Maratha community as socially and economically backward. This new law aims to provide Marathas with reservations in education and government jobs through a different legal approach. Petitioners, including the organization Youth for Equality, argue that this new law violates the 50% reservation limit.
The Bombay High Court, in its June 11, 2024, interim order, allowed the Maratha community to provisionally avail the benefit of the 10% reservation, but this is subject to the final outcome of the petitions challenging the validity of the SEBC Act, 2024. The High Court has scheduled special hearings to ensure a timely decision, following the Supreme Court's directive to expedite the case.
The SEBC Act, 2024, passed by the Maharashtra Legislature on February 20, 2024, grants a 10% reservation to the Maratha community under the OBC category, based on a report by the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission (MSBCC) headed by Justice (Retd) Sunil Shukre. The MSBCC report cited "exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations" to justify exceeding the 50% reservation cap.
The Maratha community constitutes approximately one-third of Maharashtra's population, making the reservation issue a significant point of political discussion. The Supreme Court's decision to hear the plea in July highlights the ongoing legal and social complexities surrounding reservation policies in India, particularly concerning the Maratha community in Maharashtra. The outcome of this hearing could have far-reaching implications for the state's social and political landscape, as well as the broader discourse on reservation policies nationwide.
