Bombay HC Restrains State From Issuing Appointment Orders To Engineers Selected Under EWS Quota Until Final Decision On SEBC Reservation

The bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja noted that a petition challenging MPSC's decision to consider candidates from the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) for EWS posts after the SEBC Act was struck down by the Supreme Court is pending final hearing.

Therefore, the court stayed the appointment process to 111 EWS posts and directed the MAT to dispose off the matter by January 2023.

"Although we normally refrain from interfering with the business of the Tribunal to decide pleas pending before it, having regard to the importance of the present issue, we would encourage the Tribunal to make earnest endeavor to proceed with the hearing of the original application without granting any unnecessary adjournment to any party so that the final decision can be pronounced by it by the end of January 2023," the HC said.

The original applicants approached the High Court saying that the final arguments were to begin before MAT. However, the MAT had refused to stay the appointments till the case was finally heard.

While refusing relief, MAT noted that the recruitments were pending since 2019 and the final appointments would be subject to the outcome of the proceedings before the tribunal.

Senior Advocate Mihir Desai for the plaintiff argued that the government decided to issue the appointment letters just days before the final arguments were to begin before the MAT.

The High Court observed that MAT's order dated November 29, 2022 failed to note that a coordinate Bench of the High Court, on 29th July 2022 in Vikas Balwant Alase and Ors. vs. Union of India and Ors. set aside a similar decision by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) allowing SEBC candidates to be appointed on posts reserved for EWS candidates was interdicted.

While an appeal is filed by MSEDCL against the order in Supreme Court, no stay is operative, the High Court noted.

The Government shall, however, be at liberty to issue appointment letters to the selected candidates for filling up posts other than the posts reserved for the EWS category, it added.

Case Title: Amarnath Madhukar Havshett versus Maharashtra Public Service Commission and Ors. 

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Bom) 478  

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