The legal challenge to Maharashtra’s 2024 Maratha reservation law will be reheard for a third time by the Bombay High Court starting October 9.
The challenge to the Act was earlier heard by a bench led by then Acting Chief Justice RV Ghuge. However following his elevation as the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, a new bench has been formed which will now hear the matter afresh.
The new bench is now headed by Justice MS Karnik; Justices NJ Jamadar and SV Marne who were part of the earlier bench have been retained on the new bench.
The bench will start hearing the petitions from October 9. It is a complete reset of the final arguments after almost 20 sittings, which began in June 2025.
The Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2024 grants 10 percent reservation to the Maratha community in education and public employment.
The challenge to this Act has faced continuous procedural resets.
The matter was first heard by a bench comprising then Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Justice Girish S Kulkarni and Justice Firdosh P Pooniwalla.
In an interim order of April 16, 2024, that bench clarified that admissions and recruitments under the 2024 law will be subject to the final outcome of the proceedings.
After petitioners finished arguments and the then AG Birendra Saraf began the State's reply, CJ Upadhyaya was transferred to Delhi High Court as Chief Justice, leaving the case in limbo.
Then petitions were filed by NEET-UG and PG aspirants citing academic disruption before the Supreme Court.
A bench headed by then Chief Justice of India BR Gavai directed the High Court to urgently constitute a new bench.
This led to the formation of the bench led by Justice Ghuge.
The full bench, which included Justices Jamadar and Marne was constituted on May 15, 2025, and began hearing the petitions from July 18, 2025.
Before the bench was dissolved, the petitioners and Advocate General Milind Sathe for Maharashtra government had already concluded their arguments by September 2.
Submissions from the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC), special counsel VA Thorat, and arguments from connected petitions and intervenors were still pending.
However, Justice Ghuge's departure to Calcutta High Court meant the proceedings got stalled a second time.
The SEBC Act, 2024 is another legislative attempt by the Maharashtra government to provide reservation for the Maratha community.
The SEBC Act of 2018 had previously been enacted to provide 16 percent reservation in education and public employment.
The Bombay High Court had upheld that Act but read down the quantum of reservation to 12 percent in education and 13 percent in jobs.
In May 2021, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court struck down the 2018 Act in its entirety, and a review petition filed by the State of Maharashtra was dismissed in April 2023.
After the 2024 Act was passed, petitions were filed in the High Court calling the Act unconstitutional and claiming it breached the 50 percent cap on reservations laid down by the Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney judgment.
The petitioners contend that the new Act offers no fresh legal grounds beyond an expanded survey by the retired Justice Sunil B Shukre-led MSBCC.
The State has argued that it has cured the earlier constitutional defects by establishing exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations based on extensive empirical findings to extend reservation to the Maratha community.