Context: The Supreme Court (SC) is set to commence the final hearing on the batch of Special Leave Petitions (SLPs-Article 136) against Maratha reservation in Maharashtra on a daily basis through video-conferencing.
About Marathas 

• They are a Marathi-speaking, politically dominant community in Maharashtra which make up about one-third of the population of the state.
• The Maratha empire formally existed from 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji as the Chhatrapati and ended in 1818 with the defeat of Peshwa Bajirao II at the hands of the British East India Company.
• Historically, they have been identified as a ‘warrior’ caste with large land-holdings.
• While division of land and agrarian problems over the years have led to a decline of prosperity among middle class and lower middle class Marathas, the community still plays an important role in the rural economy.

History of Maratha Quota

• 1992: Marathas made a request to the Maharashtra government to provide reservation to them.
• 2014: Central government’s effort to give quota was denied by the Maharashtra court, pointing out that no evidence was provided to make the claim that Marathas were socially and economically backward and, thus, deserved quotas
• 2018: After protests by the Marathas, the state legislature passed ‘Maharashtra State Reservations for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes’ (SEBC) Act 2018 proposing 16 % reservation in education and government jobs for the socially and educationally backward class.
• The act was challenged in the Bombay High Court, terming it as violative of the Supreme Court order that reservations in any state cannot exceed 50 %.
• 2019: The Bombay High Court reduced the quota given to Marathas to 12 % in education and 13 % in government jobs, as recommended by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission. It said that the 16 % quota granted by the state was not justifiable.

Maharashtra government’s arguments

• The Marathas had been denied equal opportunities since the first class survey conducted in the 1930s.
• As the Marathas constituted 32% of Maharashtra’s population, including them in OBC would be detrimental to others in the category. Marathas needed to be promoted in areas of social and education empowerment, which is why a separate category was carved out.
• The Supreme Court had ruled that total reservation for backward classes could not go beyond the 50 %. Maharashtra is one of the few states which is an exception to the rule.
• While the 102nd amendment spoke about the central list, it did not mention the state list, implying the state had the right to identify socially and educationally backward classes and give them reservation.
• Under 102nd amendment (which gave constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes), Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the Central List of socially and educationally backward classes.

50% cap in reservation

• The Supreme Court of India in Indra Sawhney case (1992) that reservations could not exceed 50 %. However, there are state laws that exceed this 50 % limit. For example, in Tamil Nadu, caste-based reservation stands at 69%.
• Also, the 124th constitutional amendment gave 10% quota for “economically weaker sections” from the general category of the population – primarily upper caste Hindus, but also religious minorities. This can result in states crossing there 50% limit.

Existing total reservation in Maharashtra post HC verdict

• Following the 2001 State Reservation Act, the total reservation was 52 % in Maharashtra.
• After the Union Cabinet approved the 10% reservation for the EWS, the reservation increase to 62%.
• With the addition of 12-13 % Maratha quota, the total reservation in the state is estimated to 74-75%.

Then why Bombay High court gave reservation to Maratha if the 50% limit is crossed?

• The court relied heavily on findings of Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) headed by Justice G M Gaikwad. The report said that Maratha community is socially, economically and educationally backward.

Findings of Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission:

• It surveyed about 45,000 families from two villages from each of 355 talukas with more than 50% Maratha population.

Social Backwardness:

• 76.86% of Maratha families are engaged in agriculture and agricultural labour for their livelihood.
• Nearly 70% reside in Kachha dwellings.
• Only 35-39% have personal tap water connections.
• During 2013-2018, total 13,368 farmers committed suicides and 23.56% of them were Marathas.
• 88.81% of Maratha women are involved in physical labour for earning a livelihood, besides their physical domestic work.

Educational Backwardness:

• 13.42% of Marathas are illiterate, 35.31% primary educated, 43.79% Secondary and Higher Secondary educated, 6.71% undergraduates and postgraduates and 0.77% technically and professionally qualified.

Economic Backwardness:

• 93% of Maratha families have an annual income of Rs. 1 lakh, which was below the average income of middle-class families.
• 37.38% of families were Below Poverty Line (BPL) against the state average of 24%.
• 71% own less than 2.5 acres of land, whereas only 2.7% of big farmers own 10 acres of land.

The court said that in exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations, 50% reservation limit can be crossed subject to availability of quantifiable data reflecting backwardness, inadequacy of representation and without affecting the efficiency in administration.

• It said that while the backwardness of the Maratha community was not comparable with SCs and STs, it was comparable with several other backward classes, which find place in the list of Other Backward Classes pursuant to the Mandal Commission (also known as Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission, aim: was to identify the socially or educationally backward classes of India).

Current existing Total Reservation in Maharashtra

• Following the 2001 State Reservation Act, the total reservation was 52%.
• This included quotas for SCs (13%), STs (7%), OBCs (19%), Special Backward Class (2%), Vimukta Jati (3%), Nomadic Tribe B (2.5%), Nomadic Tribe C-Dhangar (3.5%) and Nomadic Tribe D-Vanjari (2%).
• The quotas for Nomadic Tribes and Special Backward Classes have been carved out of the total OBC quota.
• With the addition of 12-13% Maratha quota, the total reservation in the state is 64-65%.
• The 10% Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota is also effective in the state.