Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court was informed on Monday that the Maharashtra govt was devising fresh measures to prevent the issuance of bogus economically weaker section (EWS) certificates, following a PIL questioning the integrity of the verification process.The PIL filed by lawyer Sundeep Badana, raised concerns over alleged lapses in scrutiny of EWS and OBC non-creamy layer certificates, claiming that ineligible individuals secured reservation benefits without a thorough inquiry. Particular reference was made to admissions in medical colleges, including high-fee management and NRI quota seats, where EWS or NCL status was allegedly used to obtain entry.
During an earlier hearing, the court asked the state what concrete steps were being taken to ensure that fake certificates were not issued. On Monday, assistant govt pleader Sangeeta Jachak informed a division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode that the administration was formulating new safeguards and making “positive efforts” to address the issue.She added that the petitioner’s suggestions were also being considered constructively. Seeking time to place detailed information on record, the state requested four weeks to submit its response. The bench scheduled the next hearing three weeks later.In the last hearing, the collector informed that 746 EWS certificates issued between Nov 1, 2025 and Jan 31, 2026 were under cross-verification for possible irregularities. He described how an EWS certificate issued on Dec 31, 2025 to Ruhi Angha — daughter of Badana — was later re-examined by the tehsildar on the “Aaple Sarkar” portal on Jan 27, 2026 and rejected the same day after scrutiny of uploaded documents and the income certificate.
