Maharashtra has tightened its recruitment rules for reserved category candidates, deciding that those who avail government relaxations in age, educational qualification, experience or number of attempts during competitive examinations will no longer be eligible to claim selection under the open category.

The decision was approved by the state cabinet on Thursday and is expected to significantly shape recruitment patterns in government jobs at a time when reservation in Maharashtra has already touched 72%.

Under the new policy, candidates from reserved categories who use any relaxation provided by the government except examination fee concessions will be considered only against seats reserved for their respective categories. They will not be allowed to compete for open category posts, even if their final merit score is high enough.

However, reserved category candidates who clear examinations without availing any relaxation in eligibility conditions will continue to remain eligible for selection in the open category on merit.

The state government said the move was aimed at removing ambiguity in recruitment processes and ensuring uniform implementation of reservation norms across departments.

According to the General Administration Department (GAD), the policy was framed following recommendations received from multiple authorities regarding the treatment of reserved category candidates selected on merit in open competition.

The decision comes amid continuing political and legal churn around reservation policy in Maharashtra, one of the most quota-heavy states in the country. With the inclusion of the Maratha quota under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) category, total reservation in the state has climbed to 72%, well above the 50% ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court in the landmark Indra Sawhney judgment, though protected under state legislation and subsequent legal mechanisms.

So far, one of the core principles followed in many recruitment processes was that reserved category candidates selected purely on merit could be adjusted against open category seats, thereby preserving reserved seats for other candidates from the same category. The Maharashtra government has now drawn a distinction between candidates who compete without concessions and those who avail relaxations granted under reservation policy.

The argument for such a rule is that once a candidate uses concessions linked to reservation eligibility, that candidate should logically be counted within the reserved quota itself.

The move could have a substantial impact on competitive examinations and public sector hiring in the state, particularly in categories where candidates routinely avail age relaxations or additional attempts.