HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition challenging the state government’s reservation policy providing 100 per cent reservation for STs in sarpanch posts of local bodies situated in Scheduled Areas.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin declined to interfere with the government’s decision and also rejected the plea to stall the upcoming local body elections in these areas.
The petition was filed by Non-Tribal Welfare Society, represented by its secretary K Madhu from Kothagudem district, contending that the policy violated constitutional provisions.
The state, however, defended the policy citing the provisions of the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996. It argued that Article 243D(4) of the Constitution, as extended to Scheduled Areas under PESA, mandates that all chairperson posts in panchayats (sarpanches) must be reserved exclusively for Scheduled Tribes, in line with Section 4 of the Act.