Supreme Court Dismisses Telangana Govt's Plea, 42% OBC Quota In Local Bodies Put On Hold

The Supreme Court upheld the Telangana High Court's stay on the state government's order to increase OBC reservations in local bodies to 42%.

Earlier, the High Court had stayed three government orders (GOs) issued on September 26.

Source : PTI

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the Telangana government’s plea challenging a High Court stay on its order to increase Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation in local bodies to 42%, effectively halting the proposed hike ahead of upcoming local elections.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta rejected the state’s Special Leave Petition against the October 9 interim order of the Telangana High Court, reported Live Law. The High Court had stayed three government orders (GOs) issued on September 26, which sought to raise OBC reservations in Mandal Praja Parishads, Zilla Praja Parishads, and Gram Panchayats under the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018.

Responding to the plea, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, informed the Court that the Commission was already in the process of publishing the final voter rolls. He explained that the lists would be frozen on October 17 for the first phase and on October 20 for the second phase of polling, in accordance with the respective nomination deadlines. Dwivedi questioned the necessity of judicial intervention, asserting that the ECI was already complying with its constitutional obligations.

He further pointed out that no appeals had been filed challenging voter deletions, despite the Court’s earlier directive ensuring free legal aid for those whose names were struck off.

The state’s attempt to increase OBC quotas had faced criticism for potentially breaching the 50% ceiling on total reservations set by the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench. With SC reservations included, the proposed hike would have raised cumulative reservations in local bodies to 67%.