HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin, on Thursday granted an interim stay on the election notification issued by the State Election Commission (SEC) on September 29 and GO Ms No. 9 dated September 26, which provided 42% reservation for BCs in local body polls.
The stay came just hours after the SEC issued the election notification for the first phase of the local body polls.
The bench’s decision came while it was hearing 10 writ petitions challenging the government’s decision to extend reservations. Notices were issued to the chief secretary and the principal secretaries of the Panchayat Raj, General Administration, BC Welfare, and Law and Legislative departments, as well as to the chief electoral officer. They were directed to file counters within four weeks, with petitioners allowed two weeks thereafter to submit rejoinders. The bench also allowed all 60 implead petitions in the matter and said a detailed, reasoned order would follow.
Advocate General A Sudarshan Reddy informed the court that the state had conducted a door-to-door socioeconomic survey covering SCs, STs and BCs, as the Census data had not been updated since 2011.
The survey found that 57.6% of Telangana’s population belongs to BC communities, based on which the Cabinet fixed 42% reservation in local body elections. He argued that no objections were raised during the survey, and criticism emerged only after the data was used for determining quotas.
No basis for 50% cap, says govt
The A-G added that while the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018 (Act No 4 of 2019) had received the Governor’s assent, the amendment Bill was still pending. In the meantime, the state promulgated an ordinance — currently in force — to enable the enhanced quota.
Supporting the state’s stand, Senior Counsel Ravi Varma Kumar contended that the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Krishnamurthy case, which capped reservations in local bodies at 50%, had no express constitutional or statutory basis and should not restrict the state’s power to ensure adequate BC representation.
In contrast, Senior Counsel K Vivek Reddy, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the 42% quota breached the 50% ceiling mandated by the Supreme Court for political reservations and violated the “triple test” laid down by the apex court.
After hearing both sides, the bench stayed the local body election notification and directed the state government and SEC to file their responses. The matter will be taken up after all replies and counter-affidavits are submitted.
