VIJAYAWADA: Senior Supreme Court counsel and founder-president of the All India Federation of Backward Classes, Vangala Eswaraiah, on Monday told the HC that the State government’s order providing 34 percent reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections would not withstand judicial scrutiny.
Appearing before Justice B.S. Bhanumathi, Eswaraiah argued that the government had issued the order despite being aware of the legal limitations on reservations exceeding the 50% ceiling laid down by the Supreme Court.
He said the government should instead pass resolutions in both Houses of the State Legislature and forward them to the Centre for appropriate legislation to provide reservation to BCs in proportion to their population.
Referring to Tamil Nadu, he said the State had followed a similar legislative route, resulting in a total reservation of 69 per cent, including BC, MBC, OBC, SC and ST categories. He also pointed out that bills seeking 42 per cent reservation for BCs had been introduced in Telangana.
Eswaraiah contended that AP had failed to undertake a comprehensive caste census and socio-economic-political survey before proceeding with local body polls. Determining BC reservations without scientific data on their population was legally unsustainable, he argued.
He said Articles 14, 15(4), 15(5), 16(4), 38, 40 and 46 of the Constitution, along with the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, required the State to ensure political representation to backward classes.
Eswaraiah recently filed an implead petition seeking to become a petitioner in a case filed in 2025 by Dr Ala Venkateswarlu, State honorary president of the AP unit of the All India BC Federation. The main petition challenges the government’s move to conduct local elections without completing the comprehensive caste and socio-economic survey.
The government opposed Eswaraiah’s implead petition. Government Pleader for Panchayat Raj Naguru Nagaraju said the government would file a detailed counter explaining its objections. Justice Bhanumathi directed him to specify reasons for opposing petition.
Nagaraju informed the court that arguments on 34 per cent BC reservation had already been heard by a Chief Justice-led bench and the judgment had been reserved. He also said a dedicated commission had been constituted on BC reservations.
Eswaraiah, however, said the commission was limited to political reservations and argued that a broader socio-economic survey was necessary.
Justice Bhanumathi granted the government a final opportunity to file its counter in the main petition and directed it to do so before the next hearing. The case was adjourned to October 1.
