Maratha quota stir ends; HC seeks Jarange’s affidavit on property damage

Activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday (September 3) submitted to the Bombay High Court that the Maratha quota agitation had been called off after the Maharashtra government accepted the key demands of the protesters.

Also Read: Maratha quota row: Jarange declares victory as Maharashtra govt accepts key demands

Court asks who will pay for damage

A Bench of acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Aarti Sathe accepted the submission but said the activist will have to file his affidavit in response to various other allegations made in the petitions against the five-day protest held by him and his supporters in Mumbai.

“There are some issues. Large-scale damage was caused to public property. Who will pay for that,” the Bench asked.

Advocates Satish Maneshinde and VM Thorat, appearing for Jarange and the organisations that led the agitation, however, asserted that no such damage was caused except for inconvenience to the common man.

Also Read: Jarange open to talks, refuses to leave Mumbai; police ask protesters to vacate Azad Maidan

Court seeks affidavit from Jarange

The Bench said Jarange and the organisations must file affidavits clarifying their stand and granted Jarange and his team four weeks to file their affidavits.

“The affidavits will have to say that they (Jarange and his team) were not the instigators. There has to be a statement that they were not behind this. There are some serious allegations in the petitions,” the court said.

If a statement of denial is not made on affidavit, then Jarange and his team will become instigators, the court said. It added that once the affidavits are filed, the court would not pass any adverse order but would only dispose of the petitions.

The court had on Tuesday (September 2) given an ultimatum to Jarange and his supporters to immediately vacate Mumbai's Azad Maidan, where the agitation was being held, saying it was illegal and without permission.

The bench later accepted Jarange’s request to stay at Azad Maidan till Wednesday morning as a solution was likely to be arrived at.

Also Read: HC says Mumbai brought to standstill, asks Maratha quota protesters to vacate streets

Maratha quota stir

Jarange, who began his hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on August 29, called off the protest on Tuesday evening after the government accepted most of his demands, including granting eligible Marathas Kunbi caste certificates, which will make them eligible for reservation benefits available to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The activist and his supporters vacated the venue after the Maharashtra government issued a government resolution (GR) on forming a committee to issue Kunbi caste certificates to eligible persons from the Maratha community with historical evidence of their Kunbi heritage, a social group classified under the OBC category in the state.

(With agency inputs)