Maratha quota stir: Maharashtra govt may face ire

Ordinance for reservation in medical courses gets approved

The Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government is running the risk of alienating the state’s upper castes that fall under the general category after the cabinet approved an ordinance to amend the act that will provide reservation to students of the Maratha community in post-graduate medical courses in the state.

The promulgation of the ordinance is likely to affect the share of seats for general quota students.

As reported by News18, In a special meeting called by the chief minister on Friday, the Cabinet also gave its approval to reimburse the fees to the candidates from the general category. A minister said the general category students can seek admission under management quota in private colleges.

According to Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, the state government will approach the Supreme Court to extend the admission time frame from 25 to 31 May. “We will also seek additional 213 seats in the medical courses,” he said. Patil added that the state government will file caveats in the Bombay High Court and its Aurangabad and Nagpur benches and the apex court to ensure the ordinance is not challenged.

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had disallowed to grant 16 per cent reservation to Maratha community for admissions to post-graduate medical courses on the grounds that the admission process had begun much earlier.

The high court had contended that the government’s decision to introduce the quota was unconstitutional. The division bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and Pushpa Ganediwala had said that the 8 March notification (about the new quota) shall not be applicable to the admission process, which had started earlier.

The Supreme Court had upheld the high court’s decision.