CONTEXT A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously declared a Maharashtra law, which provides reservation benefits to the Maratha community taking the quota limit in the State in excess of 50%, as unconstitutional.

SETS ASIDE HC VERDICT

• The Supreme Court set aside the Bombay High Court judgment which validated the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act of 2018.
• The High Court, in June 2019, reduced the quantum of reservation for Marathas from the 16% recommended by the Gaikwad Commission to 12% in education and 13% in employment.
• But the Supreme Court concluded that even the reduced percentages were ultra vires.

FINDINGS OF THE SUPREME COURT

• The Bench of SC, found there was no “exceptional circumstances” or “extraordinary situation” in Maharashtra, which required the State government to break the 50% ceiling limit to bestow quota benefits on the Maratha community.
• The judges noted that the Marathas are in the mainstream of national life and are a politically dominant caste.
• In addition to it, the Supreme Court held that a separate reservation for the Maratha community violated Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (due process of law).

SC ON INDRA SAWHNEY JUDGMENT

• The top court declined to revisit its 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment, which fixed the reservation limit at 50%.
• The Bench agreed that- “the ceiling of 50% with the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ exception, is the just balance — what is termed as the ‘Goldilocks solution i.e. the solution containing the right balance that allows the State sufficient latitude to ensure meaningful affirmative action to those who deserve it and at the same time ensures that the essential content of equality”.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE JUDGMENT

• The Court’s categorical refusal to reconsider the 50% limit set down by a verdict in Indra Sawhney (1992) may threaten the continuance of different kinds of reservation in States.
• The Bench unanimously upheld the constitutional validity of the 102nd Constitution Amendment, by which a National Commission for Backward Classes was created.
• This may impact the rights of States, as the Court has ruled that, there will only be a single list of socially and educationally backward classes with respect to each State and Union Territory notified by the President of India.
• The states can only make recommendations for inclusion or exclusion, with any subsequent change to be made only by Parliament.
• The Court has now ruled that only Parliament can create a scheme to identify SEBCs in the same manner as SCs and STs, while the President alone is now empowered to identify SEBCs.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-declares-maratha-quota-law-unconstitutional/article34487043.ece