Maratha quota stir: Bombay HC orders protesters to vacate Mumbai roads

The Bombay High Court on Monday asked activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and his supporters protesting in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan for reservations for the Maratha community to vacate all streets and help restore normalcy in the city by Tuesday, Live Law reported.

The activist had on Friday launched an indefinite hunger strike to reiterate his demand for reservations in government jobs and education for the Marathas under the Other Backward Classes category.

Jarange-Patil has accused the Maharashtra government of not cooperating with the protesters on the matter and vowed not to back down this time until the demand was met. This is the ninth protest led by Jarange-Patil in the past two years.

On Monday, a bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad said that the “situation is grim and the city of Mumbai has been practically brought to a standstill” because of the protests, Deccan Herald reported.

The bench made the observation during a special hearing on a petition filed by the Amy Foundation and others, despite a holiday for the Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. The hearing was held in light of the inconvenience caused to the public due to the protests.

The court directed the state government to ensure that no more protesters entered Mumbai.

It also asked the government to provide medical assistance to Jarange-Patil if his health deteriorated, Live Law reported.

The bench noted that protesters had camped beyond Azad Maidan, which was the designated protest site, and gathered at several other areas in the city. This included outside the High Court building, which was blocking entry gates and disrupting the movement of judges and lawyers, it added.

“The entire city has been blocked,” Deccan Herald quoted the bench as saying.

It said that the conditions imposed for a peaceful protest had been violated, adding that Jarange-Patil’s assurance to the police had not been honoured.

While every citizen has a right to protest, it must be exercised peacefully and within legal limits, the bench said.

The court reiterated its August 26 order in the matter that protests must comply with the rules.

In that order, the court had said that the protesters cannot organise a protest at Azad Maidan without obtaining permission under the 2025 Public Meetings, Agitations and Processions Rules.

The rules had been notified on the same day under Section 33 of the Maharashtra Police Act, which pertains to the power to regulate traffic and preserve order in public places, among other things.

At the hearing on Monday, advocate General Birendra Saraf, representing the state government, said that permission for the protest was only valid till Friday, adding that all conditions had been breached, Live Law reported.

The court directed the protesters to clear and clean the roads by Tuesday, when the matter will be heard next.

Jarange-Patil had begun his march from Maharashtra’s Jalna district on August 27 and arrived at the protest venue in Mumbai with thousands of supporters on Friday morning.

“I am prepared to sacrifice my life, but this time, we will not leave Mumbai without justice,” the activist had said. “They can shoot me or put me in jail, but I won’t leave Mumbai unless our demands are heard and met.”

The protest came amid fresh rules notified by the Mumbai Police on August 26 that bans protests after 6 pm and limits participation to 5,000 persons. In accordance with the new rules, the protesters had been instructed to vacate Azad Maidan by Friday evening.

Will implement court directive, says CM

Hours after the court’s direction on Monday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the administration will implement the court’s directives, PTI reported.

The state government is deliberating legal options to resolve the standoff over the demand for reservations for the Marathas, he added.

“There have been sporadic incidents [related to Maratha demonstrations] which have been cleared by police within minutes,” the news agency quoted the Bharatiya Janata Party leader as saying.

“…The government is studying their memorandums to see if a positive outcome can come out,” he added. “If someone from their side comes forward for talks, the process to find a solution will be expedited.”

Quota demand

The Maratha community’s long-standing demand for reservations in education and government jobs resurfaced in 2023 with protests led by Jarange-Patil. The movement witnessed violence, suicides and the resignations of legislators.

In February 2024, Maharashtra’s Legislature passed a bill allowing for the creation of a 10% quota in education and government jobs for the Marathas. This would be in addition to the state’s 52% reservation quota, which includes a 10% quota for the Economically Weaker Section.

In August 2024, justifying its recommendation for the 10% quota for Marathas, the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission told the High Court that the community had been “pushed to the dark edges of mainstream society”.

The introduction of the 10% quota is similar to the 16% reservation for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes category that was introduced in 2018 by the state government at the time comprising the BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena.

That decision was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2021, citing the 50% cap on a state’s total reservations that the court had ordered in 1992. The court said that there were no “exceptional circumstances” or “extraordinary situation” in Maharashtra for the state government to breach the limit on reservations.

Jarange-Patil has insisted that reservations for Marathas be given under the Other Backward Classes category, on the grounds that the separate quota exceeds the constitutional ceiling of 50% and would likely be struck down by the judiciary.

Jarange-Patil has also demanded that Kunbi caste certificates be provided to all Marathas. The Kunbis form a sub-caste within the Maratha community. They are included in the Other Backward Classes.