Deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal has now demanded reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) in the judiciary. In a letter sent to chief minister Ashok Chavan, Bhujbal has demanded a government resolution with immediate effect for reservation for the post of government pleaders and first class metropolitan magistrates.
In the letter, Bhujbal has stated that the demand is according section 312 of the Constitution of India. “We have nearly 800 posts of government pleaders and their assistants and the appointments on these post should be done by giving reservations to the OBCs. Other states like Bihar, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have already implemented the the reservation and Maharashtra should follow suit immediately by issuing a GR,” said Bhujbal.
A delegation of the advocates representing the Bar Association of the Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court had a meeting with Bhujbal. “There has been a misconception that since the government pleaders are not the employees of the government, the reservation under the Maharashtra State Reservation Act is not applicable to them.
But we brought to the notice of the deputy chief minister that since its an appointment of the government, the category of the advocates should get the reservation like others states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu. Bihar has introduced it in last week,” said Hari Narke, head of the department of the Mahatma Phule chair, Pune University. He also was part of the delegation that met Bhujbal.
Narke said that the percentage of the government pleaders at district level is merely 8% as even SC/STs have no reservation for these posts. “It is ironical that the representatives sent to the Supreme Court from the state in the past 60 years are miniscule in number as perhaps a certain class has made it their monopoly.
We don’t mean to compromise on the merit, but demand implementation keeping Maharashtra’s track record of being the first state to bring in the reccomendations of Mandal Commission,” he added.
