Overview

• The division bench stayed G.O. Ms. No. 9 and suspended related election notifications, stopping preparations for rural local-body polls.
• The state and the Election Commission must file counter affidavits within four weeks, petitioners get two more weeks, and the matter is listed for hearing after roughly six weeks.
• Judges questioned adherence to the Supreme Court’s ‘triple test’, the non-publication of BC Commission data, the uniform 42% allocation, and the status of the Governor’s assent or deemed assent.
• The government, represented by Abhishek Manu Singhvi and the Advocate General, cited a 2024 socio‑economic/caste survey and a BC Commission report, arguing policy legality and disputing a hard 50% cap.
• The stay is expected to delay the local-body elections, prompting political reactions including criticism from the BJP and disappointment from the state’s BC welfare minister.