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4h ago

Telangana HC Lets Local Body Polls Proceed as It Hears Challenges to 42% BC Quota

The bench allowed the election schedule to move forward pending a ruling on whether the 42% allocation satisfies Supreme Court‑mandated procedures.

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Overview

  • The Division Bench clubbed all petitions against GO No. 9 and, for now, declined to stay the order or halt the State Election Commission from issuing notifications and taking nominations starting Thursday.
  • The judges pressed the state on four points: compliance with the Supreme Court’s triple test and 50% ceiling, the claim of deemed assent without gazette notification, the use of a uniform 42% across diverse local bodies, and whether commission data was published for objections.
  • Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, for the government, argued courts should not interfere once the poll process begins and defended the quota as grounded in a survey and a BC commission report, contending the 50% cap can be flexible.
  • Petitioners said the total reservation would reach 67%, breaching Supreme Court limits, and faulted the state for relying on unpublished data and unnotified amendments, citing earlier Telangana HC decisions that curbed higher BC quotas.
  • The government said a March 17 bill raising BC reservations is pending with the Governor and asserted deemed assent, as political leaders on both sides mobilised and several BC leaders, including BJP MP R. Krishnaiah, sought to intervene in support of the quota.