Maratha Reservation: SC Rejects GOI’s Review Petition Against Judgment Holding only Centre has Power to Identify SEBCs.

THE Supreme Court has dismissed the review petition filed by the Government of India against a majority judgment of a Constitution bench holding that only the Centre has the power under the 102nd Constitution Amendment to identify and list Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) and not States.

Rejecting the review petition, a five-judge bench Justices Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, Abdul Nazeer, Hemant Gupta and Ravindra Bhat said “The grounds taken in the review petition do not fall within the limited ground on which review petition can be considered”.

The top court on May 5 unanimously struck down the reservations to the Maratha community in educational institutions and public services.

The court also upheld the validity of the 102nd constitutional amendment and by a majority of 3:2 interpreted that under Article 324A the Centre alone had the power to determine SEBCs. It underlined that states can’t have a separate list of SEBCs and the power is only with the President to notify the list of SEBCs.

Aggrieved with this interpretation of the 102nd amendment, the Centre had filed the review petition in the Court which the Court found without merit.

Also Read: Maratha Reservation Verdict: Legally Right or Getting it Right?

The article was originally published in The Leaflet.