Maharashtra Assembly approves, passes bill proposing 16 percent quota for Maratha students in PG medical and dental admissions

Mumbai: Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed an amendment in socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC) Act 2018, providing reservation to Maratha students in post-graduate (PG) medical and dental admissions. Assembly passes amendment for quota to Maratha students in PG medical admissions.

The government had earlier promulgated an ordinance over the same. The Maharashtra Legislature had on 29 November last year passed a bill proposing 16 percent reservation in education and government jobs for Marathas, declared as socially and educationally backward class (SEBC) by the government.

Citing the reason that the admissions to post-graduate medical courses had begun on 2 November, students from the open category had earlier moved the Bombay High Court and the reservation was scrapped.

Last month, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had said that the 16 percent reservation for the Maratha community under the SEBC category will not be applicable for the post-graduate medical courses this year.

The Supreme Court had also upheld the high court order. Last month, the state government had received permission from the Election Commission (EC) to promulgate an ordinance for Maratha reservation for the PG medical courses. The ordinance was promulgated to restore the admissions already done.