A public interest litigation (PIL) was lodged on Tuesday in the Bombay High Court challenging Eknath Shinde led Maharashtra government’s decision to grant Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community members in the state.
The plea was lodged by Mangesh Sasane, who claims to be the chairman of the OBC Welfare Foundation. The petition stated that the state government by granting Kunbi certificates to the Maratha community was eating into the reservation of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Furthermore, the plea challenges five government resolutions issued from 2004 granting the Marathas to seek Kunbi caste certificates.
The petitioner’s advocate Ashish Mishra asserted that earlier, the process of granting Kunbi certificates to Marathas was difficult but with every agitation, the process was made easier. The petition noted that in 2021, the Supreme Court declared the Maharashtra government’s decision granting reservation to Marathas as unconstitutional.
The petitioner’s counsel further claimed that the state government by allowing the Marathas to get Kunbi certificate and enjoy reservation benefits is giving them backdoor entry. Reportedly, the matter will be heard by the court on February 6.
Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil on January 20 began a march to Mumbai from Antarwali Sarathi in Jalna, demanding issuance of Kunbi certificates to all Marathas, which would entitle them to benefits under the quota earmarked for the OBCs.
Following, the Eknath Shinde led Maharashtra government recently issued a draft notification stating that blood relatives of a Maratha person, who has records to show he belongs to the Kunbi community, would also be recognised as Kunbi.
Kunbi, an agrarian community falls in the OBC category, and Manoj Jarange, spearheading the agitation for reservation for the Marathas since last August, has been demanding Kunbi certificates for all Marathas to enable them to avail quota benefits in government jobs and education.