The passage of this major legislation comes ahead of the general election due early next year.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra government to submit data on Other Backward Classes to the State Backward Classes Commission to examine its correctness and make recommendations on their representation in elections for the local bodies.
Petitions challenging the Maharashtra government's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to the Maratha community for reservation have been filed in the Bombay High Court. The pleas claim the decision is arbitrary and unconstitutional.
A substantial number of castes and groups are already placed in the reserved category, getting about 52 per cent of reservations altogether. It would be completely inequitable to place the Maratha community in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, it said.
The Supreme Court has addressed the issue of reservation quotas in Maharashtra local body elections, stating that the final results of elections in 57 local bodies, where the 50% quota ceiling has been breached, will depend on its judgment in the case.
Once the Bill is passed in the assembly and notified, the Marathas will be entitled to reservation in the government jobs and in admission in government institutions.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini commemorated B.R. Ambedkar's birth anniversary, highlighting his contributions to women's empowerment and social justice. Saini and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal criticised the Congress party for allegedly disrespecting Ambedkar, while praising the current government's efforts to honour his legacy.
The Bombay high court on Friday constituted a three-judge special bench to hear the pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the law providing Maratha reservation following a Supreme Court directive.
Elections to local governing bodies can be held now with OBC quota in Maharashtra, with the Supreme Court giving its nod on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Mumbai.
The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to notify the programme for local bodies elections within two weeks.
Marathas have been declared as socially and educationally backward class of citizens and have inadequate representation in services under the state. They are entitled to reservation benefits and advantages enshrined in the Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution, the recommendations mentioned.
As the March 31 deadline arrives, a wave of Maoist surrenders suggests insurgency's end, but political and social concerns remain.
The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra government and its state election commission to conduct local body elections, clarifying that the results will be subject to the court's final verdict, especially concerning the 50% quota limit. The court will hear pleas regarding OBC reservation in local bodies in January 2026.
The court further held that the state's legislative competence is not affected by the amendment to Article 342(a) of the Constitution of India.
The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to complete the stalled local body polls by January 31, 2026, criticizing the commission for non-compliance with previous orders.
The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra state election commission to notify local body elections in the state within four weeks. The court also ruled that the contentious issue of OBC reservation in local body polls will be as it existed prior to the 2022 Banthia Commission report. The court accepted the commission's report, which recommended a census to fix exact data on OBCs and reserve 27 per cent seats for the category in local body polls in Maharashtra. The bench on Tuesday fixed a timeline for concluding the local body polls and asked the state panel to conclude it in four months. The outcome of Maharashtra local body elections would be subject to decisions in pending petitions before the apex court.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday stayed the elections to 92 municipal councils and four nagar panchayats in view of the next week's hearing on OBC reservations before the Supreme Court.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections on December 2 for municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The polls are seen as a test of the ruling coalition's strength after their recent assembly election victory.
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution urging the Centre to provide the 2011 census data to enable the State Backward Class Commission to prepare an empirical data of the OBC population, in a bid to restore political reservations for its members in local bodies.
Talks between Maratha quota agitation leader Manoj Jarange and a government delegation ended without a resolution in Mumbai. Jarange criticized the Chief Minister and vowed to continue his hunger strike, demanding a 10% quota for Marathas under the OBC category.
Maharashtra is set to hold local body elections for municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a Supreme Court-mandated process. The elections are seen as a key indicator of political sentiment following the BJP-led Mahayuti's victory in the assembly elections.
'Devendra Fadnavis is stating that Marathas must feel OBCs are not happy with reservations for the Marathas and therefore they are protesting.'
The Congress on Friday posted its second worst performance in Bihar's electoral history, managing to win only six of the over 50 seats it contested and losing deposits in most seats as its 'vote chori' pitch failed to make any impact on the ground.
The decision comes a day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said a government-appointed committee scrutinised 1.72 crore old documents (including those of Nizam-era) and among them, 11,530 records were found where Kunbi caste was mentioned.
The ordinance will be tabled in the next session of the legislature, it said, adding that 27 posts were approved for the commission.
'Life in India is better only for those who have reservations.'
Shinde also said directives will be issued to give the Kunbi caste certificates to blood relatives of a person who already possesses similar documents.
The apex court said that status of those who have already taken benefits of the 2018 law shall not be disturbed.
The Maharashtra cabinet had approved the two bills on Friday and they were introduced in the assembly and later in the Council for passage.
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
Quota activist Manoj Jarange has announced that he will start an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from January 20 to intensify his demand of reservation for the Maratha community.
The government would extend to the Maratha community the educational concessions given to OBCs.
BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan has been awarded the Sansad Ratna for his outstanding performance in the Lok Sabha, becoming the first actor-turned-politician to receive the honour.
'...it gets a survey report that they are going to lose elections.' 'The fear of losing elections will make them immediately conduct a caste census.'
The perception is rapidly gaining ground that though the chief minister is from the Shiv Sena, the government is being run by the NCP.
Any move of the present government to appease the Marathas may boomerang. Eknath Shinde is a worried man with the agitation not having an easy solution, notes Ramesh Menon.
The Supreme Court Monday took serious note of the election process reserving the post of president of a panchayat samiti in Maharashtra for the Other Backward Class category, saying it is 'clearly in the teeth' of the judgement delivered by the apex court earlier this year.
Instead of agitating, be ready for celebration, Maha CM Devendra Fadnavis said.
The judgment came on a batch of pleas challenging the Bombay high court verdict which had upheld the grant of reservation to Marathas in admissions and government jobs in the state.
The 102nd Constitution Amendment Act of 2018 inserted articles 338B, which deals with the structure, duties and powers of the National Commission for Backward Classes, and 342A that deals with the powers of the president to notify a particular caste as an SEBC and the power of Parliament to change the list. Article 366 (26C) defines SEBCs.
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