Supreme Court refuses to stay 16% Maratha quota

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Maharashtra ordinance, which had set the stage for implementing a 16% Maratha quota in admissions this year in the state, saying it did not want to create chaos in the process.

“We do not want to create chaos in admissions,” Justice Sanjiv Khanna said sitting alongside Justice BR Gavai. He refused to give immediate relief to a few students who were opposing the ordinance.

Instead, the bench urged the students who were represented by senior advocate Shekhar Naphade to await a Bombay High Court decision on the legality of the ordinance.


The high court and later the Supreme Court had struck down earlier attempts by the state to carve out a separate 16% quota within the socially and educationally backward quotas. The state then brought in an ordinance.

That ordinance has since been challenged as violative of the earlier court ruling. The Bombay High Court has heard arguments on this score and reserved its orders on this. The Maratha reservation issue has been both politically and socially contentious.