Maharashtra Govt Scrapes Caste Verification Process For 5% Muslim Reservation

The Maharashtra government has formally scrapped the process for issuing caste verification and validity certificates associated with a 2014 ordinance providing 5% reservation in education and government jobs to socially and educationally backward Muslim communities under the then Congress-NCP regime.

As per the Government decision, the State has cancelled all orders related to issuing caste and validity certificates to Muslims under the Special Backward Category-A (SBC-A).

The government noted that the Maharashtra Ordinance No. 14, giving 5% reservation to Muslims, was not converted into law within the time stipulated and therefore lapsed on December 23, 2014.

It cited proceedings before the Bombay High Court, granting an interim stay on the 5% reservation in public employment on November 14, 2014.

As per the resolution, since the ordinance has lapsed, the earlier resolutions and circulars issued related to the said ordinance automatically stand cancelled.

The move is being seen as a technical step to officially reflect the status quo, as the quota had not been implemented due to legal hurdles and the lapse of an ordinance in 2014.

In 2014, the Congress-NCP government announced reservations for both Marathas and Muslims under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) category ahead of the Assembly elections. Arif Naseem Khan, the then minister and Congress leader, declared that Marathas would receive 16% reservation and Muslims 5%.

The Maratha quota was based on the Narayan Rane Committee report, while the demand for Muslim reservation had long been pending, with the Sachar Committee report.