MUMBAI, Sept. 23 -- A division bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday recused itself from hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the government resolution (GR) issued by the State on September 2, which implemented the Hyderabad Gazette and granted Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas from the Marathwada region, enabling them to get reservation under the Other Backward Castes (OBC) category. The division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Sandesh Dadasaheb Patil refused to hear the five petitions without giving a reason and ordered the court registry to place them before an appropriate bench. The matter is now expected to be placed before the bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad. The petitions were filed by Maharashtra Mali Samaj Mahasangh, Ahir Suvarnakar Samaj Sanstha, Sadanand Bapu Mandlik of Samata Parishad, Maharashtra Nabhik Mahamandal, and the Kunbi Sena. All of them sought the quashing and setting aside of the GR or a direction to the government to withdraw the same. Calling it unconstitutional, the Kunbi Sena's petition said the GR has changed the criteria for issuing caste certificates of three castes - Kunbi, Kunbi Maratha and Maratha Kunbi. It added that the Gazette violates the right to equality for OBCs and lacks legislative competence under the Constitution of India to grant reservation under Article 342A, which talks about socially and educationally backward classes. It also highlighted that the GR violates Article 14 of the Constitution and arbitrarily favours a politically and socially advanced community by granting them OBC status. It added that the GR would affect over 260 castes and clans who are presently notified as OBCs and not represented in the government's mainstream decisions and policies....