A PIL filed in the Bombay High Court has sought to restrain Maharashtra government from extending benefits of reservation to the Maratha community except by following the "due legal procedure".
The petition, filed by a member of Republican Party of India (RPI), also says that Marathas cannot be called as backward nor can they be included in OBC category.
"Marathas are dominant, affluent, forward caste and not entitled to be included in the list of OBCs," the petition said.
Petitioner Rajaram Kharat also seeks a direction to government to table report of Backward Classes Commission headed by Rtd Justice R M Bapat in both the Houses of the legislature during the current session.
As per the petition, under the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission Act, 2005, report of the Bapat Commission, which was not in favour of granting reservation to Maratha community, should have been accepted by the state.
However, it alleges, that under pressure from Maratha organisations, state is "on the verge of extending reservations to Marathas, by including them in OBC".
This has "created feeling of insecurity amongst the neo-Buddhists, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and the downtrodden," the petition said. The PIL is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow.
