The petitioners who have opposed reservations for Marathas and Muslims in Maharashtra on Thursday argued before the high court here that these communities were not backward, and Marathas were in fact dominant in many sectors.
Former journalist Ketan Tirodkar, who has filed one of the public interest suits against state government's election-year decision to provide reservations, stated that 75 per cent of cooperative sugar factories in Maharashtra were controlled by Marathas. Further, 75 per cent of educational institutions were controlled by the same community, he said. Also, 75 per cent of the land in the state was owned by the Maratha community, he added.
People from the community form the majority of the borrowers of Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank, and many loans of the bank had turned bad, leading to the appointment of an administrator, he said.
The Bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah asked Tirodkar to provide data regarding the purported dominance of Marathas in economically strong regions of Satara, Sangli, Parbhani, Baramati, Pune and Karad, vis-a-vis other districts.
The Congress-NCP government had earlier this year decided to provide 16 per cent reservations for Marathas and five per cent for Muslims.
Senior advocate Pradeep Sancheti, appearing for the NGO Youth For Equality, another petitioner, argued according to the SC's guidelines, aggregate reservations cannot exceed 50 per cent, and a religion cannot be a basis for providing reservations.
