The Supreme Court verdict to strike down reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the Marathas in Maharashtra is a major win for meritorious students. Members of the organisation — Save Merit, Save the Nation — started by students and parents fighting for merit in education, have said they are relieved. A few members of SMSN were among the petitioners against the reservation in the Supreme Court. The organisation was also up in arms against the reservation, since it crossed the constitutionally allowed threshold of maximum reservation of 50 per cent, leading to scarcity of seats for students from the open category.

“There has been a lot of beating around the bush over political agendas. The judgment puts an end to all this chaos. Two batches have faced the consequences of this unjustified reservation policy but it is important to now move on with a fair platform for coming admissions,” said Sudha Shenoy, executive president of the SMSN, which was formed in the year 2019. She added, “Nobody is against a certain community but we have to adhere to the constitutional norms regarding this. We cannot have more than 50 per cent of seats going for students coming from reserved categories. This is clear denial to meritorious students.”