“If the petitioners are issued with the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificates in the state format and undertaking is filed by the petitioners that during the entire educational career, they would not claim benefit of any reservation, either vertical or horizontal except EWS category, then the petitioners be considered for admission from EWS category.”
The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday made the above direction while allowing a student of the Maratha caste to avail EWS reservation benefits with an undertaking not to claim any other reservation, either vertical or horizontal, except EWS category.
A division bench of Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice Shrikant D. Kulkarni, while hearing the petitions of eight aspiring students, was informed by respective counsels for the students that they belonged to the Maratha community and were desirous of pursuing the undergraduate courses in medical education.
The students, aspiring to pursue medical and engineering courses, moved the High Court after they missed out on reservation under both Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) and EWS quotas following the Supreme Court’s stay on implementation of SEBC in September.
The Court directed the Tahsildar at Aurangabad not to deny EWS certificate to the student petitioners merely because they belong to the Maratha caste which is categorised as SEBC.
On July 28, the state government had issued an order stating that students from Maratha community would not be able to apply for EWS quota seats as they were already given reservation under the SEBC quota.
Also Read: Allahabad High Court grants bail to man who offered namaz in Mathura temple
Since the Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of SEBC quota, the students found themselves denied benefits under both quotas and approached the High Court seeking admissions through EWS quota.