Overview
- Telling the state to adhere to established precedent, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed Telangana’s challenge to the High Court’s interim stay on GO No. 9.
- The top court said local body elections may proceed only within the 50% aggregate reservation limit, leaving the substantive constitutional issues for the High Court to decide uninfluenced by the SLP’s dismissal.
- The High Court’s October 9 order imposed a six-week interim stay and set timelines for counter-affidavits, noting the proposed hike would push total quotas to roughly 67% (SC 15% + ST 10% + BC 42%).
- Telangana argued it satisfied the ‘triple test’ using a 2024–25 socio‑economic and caste survey that counted BCs at about 56.33% of the population and invoked ‘deemed assent,’ while respondents cited Indra Sawhney, K. Krishna Murthy and Vikas Gawali to stress the 50% cap.
- BC associations have called a statewide bandh on October 18 seeking implementation of the 42% quota, with support announced by the Congress, BJP and BRS, as police urge a peaceful protest.