Supreme Court dismisses Telangana plea on increasing BC reservations in local body polls

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the Telangana government’s plea to raise Backward Classes (BC) reservations in local body polls to 42 per cent. The verdict delivered a major setback to the state. A bench led by Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta heard the case.

Supreme Court dismisses Telangana BC reservations plea

The Telangana government challenged the High Court’s stay on Government Order (GO) No. 9. That order aimed to increase BC quotas in local body elections.

During the hearing, Justice Nath asked government counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi why the state had not implemented the increase before notifying elections. Singhvi replied that the Governor had kept the Bill pending. He added that it had become law through “deemed assent,” referring to the Tamil Nadu Governor case. Moreover, he argued that the High Court had stayed the order without questioning the law itself.

Court upholds 50% reservation ceiling

The bench stated that elections must proceed under existing reservation limits. It was observed that exceptions to the 50 per cent ceiling apply only to Scheduled Areas and tribal regions. Telangana, however, does not fall under those categories.

Furthermore, Singhvi argued that the state had full authority to determine reservation policy. He cited a detailed household socio-economic survey conducted across Telangana. The Court, however, reiterated that total reservations cannot exceed 50 per cent in general areas. Therefore, it upheld earlier rulings, including the Krishnamurthy case. The judges also pointed out that Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh faced similar rejections when they tried to increase BC quotas.

Bench rejects Telangana’s justification

Singhvi contended that the 50 per cent limit was not absolute. He said Telangana had conducted a year-long survey and met the “triple-test” conditions. However, the bench disagreed. Justice Mehta referred to the Gawali judgment, which does not allow higher quotas in non-tribal regions.

Finally, concluding the hearing, the court said, “You may continue your elections without reservations… dismissed.”