Bombay HC refuses to stay Maharashtra’s GR on Kunbi caste certificates for Marathas

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant an interim stay on the Maharashtra government’s decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members who can prove their OBC antecedents, directing the state to file a detailed response within four weeks

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant an interim stay on the implementation of the Maharashtra government’s decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members who can prove their OBC antecedents.

Five petitions were filed by persons from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category claiming that issuing the Kunbi caste certificate to Maratha community members would eventually lead to their induction in the OBC category.

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A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad briefly heard the petitioners, one of whom sought a stay on the government decision as interim relief. The bench stated that it was not inclined to grant any interim relief and noted that the issue could be decided only after a response was sought from the government.

“We are at this stage not elaborating upon the issues raised by the petitioners and would hence decline to grant any interim relief,” the bench said. The bench issued a notice to the Maharashtra government and directed it to file an affidavit in response to the petitions.

Advocate General Birendra Saraf, appearing for the government, opposed the pleas, noting that the petitioners are not aggrieved persons as the government resolution (about granting Kunbi caste certificates to eligible persons from the Maratha community) does not affect them.

The high court posted the matters for further hearing after four weeks. The Government Resolution (GR) was issued on September 2 to grant Kunbi certificates to eligible members of the Maratha community who can prove their OBC antecedents, following a five-day stir by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange at Azad Maidan.

The GR on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer will allow eligible members of the Maratha community to apply for Kunbi caste certificates, which will enable them to claim quota under the OBC category.

Kunbi Sena, Maharashtra Mali Samaj Mahasangh, Ahir Suvarnkar Samaj Sanstha, Sadanad Mandalik, and Maharashtra Nabhik Mahamandal filed the petitions. The pleas claimed the government’s decision was arbitrary, unconstitutional, and bad in law, and deserves to be quashed.

Kunbi Sena stated that the government resolutions change the basis and criteria for the issuance of caste certificates of three castes – Kunbi, Kunbi Maratha, and Maratha Kunbi. The resolutions are “vague” and would result in “utter chaos”, the petition said.

“The decision is a circuitous method of granting caste certificates to the Maratha community from Other Backward Classes by a confusing and vague procedure, which is inclusion of the community in the OBC category,” it said.