New Delhi: The Bombay high court has said that students from the Maratha community may avail reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) if they provide an undertaking stating that they will not claim reservations under any other category for their education.
Justices S.V. Gangapurwala and S.D. Kulkarni of the Aurangabad bench told the tehsildar of Aurangabad not to deny an EWS certificate to a Maratha applicant. The Maratha caste is classified as a Socially and Educationally Backward Community.
The judges said, according to Bar and Bench, “The Tahsildar, Aurangabad shall consider if the petitioners are entitled for EWS certificate, then shall issue the same immediately. Naturally, the petitioners will have to prove before the Tahsildar that they belong to economically weaker section then only would be entitled for EWS certificate.”
The petitioner had approached the Bombay high court after the tahsildar had refused to grant them an EWS certificate, and they were not able to gain admission in a college.
The bench noted that the Maharashtra government had specified in a July 28, 2020 resolution that a person from a reserved category cannot apply for EWS reservations. However, the court continued, the Supreme Court on September 9, 2020 had stayed the Maratha reservations till the validity of the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act has been examined by a larger bench.
While the stay is on, the court decided, it does not make sense to deprive SEBCs of EWS reservation. “If the petitioners are issued with the 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 bench said.