Mumbai: The Maharashtra Government on Tuesday cancelled the 5 percent reservations for Muslims in the state in jobs and education. The CM Devendra Fadnavis Government issued a Government Resolution (GR) , after the previous ordinance providing the reservation was cancelled. The court has placed an interim stay on the decision.
5 percent quota issued during Congress- NCP rule
It may be noted that when the Congress-NCP government was in power in the state, it issued an order that granted a 16 per cent quota to Marathas and five per cent to Muslims. According to the latest resolution, all decisions taken earlier and the ordinance related to the five percent reservation in government and semi-government jobs have been cancelled.
The cancellation is also applicable in educational institutions for the socially and educationally backward Muslim group. The new order said that the government has withdrawn previous decisions and circulars that were issued in 2014. The issuing of caste and non-creamy layer certificates to Muslims under the Special Backwards Category has also been stopped.
Congress slams move
“The Social Justice and Special Assistance Department of the Maharashtra Government issued an extremely unfortunate Government Resolution on February 17, 2026. Through this decision, all previous Government Resolutions and circulars regarding the issuance of caste certificates and caste validity certificates to persons falling under the Special Backward Category-A within the Muslim community have been officially revoked. In other words, the reservation provided to the Muslim community has been cancelled,” Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad said.
She added, “On one hand, they talk of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ (Support for All, Development for All), and on the other, they close the avenues for obtaining necessary documents for reservation—isn’t this hypocrisy? Even though the Mumbai High Court has approved 5% reservation for the Muslim community in education, its implementation has not taken place anywhere in Maharashtra to date. The government’s failure to implement the reservation approved by the court is detrimental to democracy”.