According to sources, the drafting of the curative petition in the Maratha quota case has reached its final stage, and the State Government is expected to file the petition in the Supreme Court soon.
Sources have reported that following the dismissal of the review petition for the Maratha quota by the Supreme Court last month, the State Government announced its intention to file a curative petition.
In addition, the government has made the decision to establish a new commission tasked with studying the backwardness of the community, aiming to gather evidence in support of the quota. The curative petition is nearing completion, and it is anticipated that it will be filed in the coming days.
Maratha leaders, expressing their skepticism, have been advocating for the inclusion of the Maratha quota within the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota rather than pursuing a curative petition. Virendra Pawar, a prominent Maratha leader, highlighted that curative petitions have not been successful in the past. According to Pawar, the government's available options are either to classify Marathas as part of the OBC category or to propose a constitutional amendment to remove the 50% cap on the reservation, thereby granting the Maratha community their desired quota.
In an effort to establish the backwardness of the community and address the shortcomings identified by the Supreme Court in its rejection of the reservation, the government announced last month that a commission would be formed. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde instructed the state administration to appoint impartial and capable agencies to carry out this task, providing them with the necessary resources and administrative support for an efficient process.
“We will do everything needed to restore the quota. We have discussed every option available for the quota. The appointed cabinet sub-committee will review the progress every week," stated Shinde at the time.
