The Bombay High Court is set to hear a petition on March 9, 2026, challenging the Government of Maharashtra’s decision to cancel the proposed five percent reservation for the Muslim community in public employment and educational institutions.
The quota traces back to 2014, when the then Congress–NCP government introduced an ordinance granting a 5 percent reservation to around 50 identified Muslim sub-communities under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) category. However, the ordinance eventually lapsed, leaving the policy in legal limbo for several years.
On February 17, 2026, the state’s Social Justice Department issued a fresh Government Resolution formally withdrawing all previous decisions and circulars related to the quota. This included scrapping procedures for issuing caste and non-creamy layer certificates to Muslims under the relevant category. The move has reignited political debate and triggered fresh legal action.
The petition, filed by lawyer Syed Ejaz Abbas Naqvi through advocate Nitin Satpute, contends that the government’s decision is arbitrary, discriminatory, and violative of constitutional guarantees such as equality and fundamental rights. The plea seeks to set aside the February 17 resolution, secure an interim stay on its implementation, and require the state to present data justifying the withdrawal.
Opposition parties and civil rights groups have criticised the cancellation as a blow to social justice and minority welfare, calling it “anti-minority.” The state government, however, maintains that the action merely formalises the status of a policy that had remained legally uncertain for years.
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