7 months ago
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The Supreme Court declined connected Monday (October 6, 2025) to entertain a petition challenging a Telangana authorities order enhancing the Backward Classes’ quota successful municipalities and panchayats to 42%, starring to the full preservation of seats successful section bodies successful the State to interaction 67%.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta nevertheless gave the petitioner, Vanga Gopal Reddy, liberty to attack the Telangana High Court against the September 26 bid of the State government.
The Bench had queried wherefore Mr. Reddy had moved the apex tribunal successful the archetypal lawsuit and not moved the High Court.
The petition, filed done advocator Somiran Sharma, raised the question whether States could summation the full preservation of seats successful section bodies to breach the 50% ceiling.
Mr. Sharma pointed retired the enhancement successful the OBC quota had travel anterior to a notification issued by the Telangana State Election Commission announcing that the panchayat predetermination process successful the State would commence from October 9. Polling for the section bodies’ predetermination successful Telangana would hap successful 2 phases connected October 23 and October 27.
“Together with the existing 15% for Scheduled Castes and 10% for Scheduled Tribes, the aggregate preservation exceeds 67%, straight violating the 50% ceiling judicially prescribed by the Supreme Court,” the petition had argued earlier the apex court.
The 50% ceiling regularisation successful preservation was established by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court successful the Mandal Commission lawsuit judgement of 1992.
The September 26 bid issued by Telangana had followed an effort by the State to enact a law, The Telangana Backward Classes (Reservations of Seats successful Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill, 2025, to heighten OBC seats successful section bodies by 42%. However, the petition said, the Bill had been neither assented to by the Governor nor by the President.
Mr. Reddy had said the Telangana government’s bid augmenting OBC quota successful section bodies violated Section 285A of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, which expressly codified the 50% ceiling successful preservation successful section bodies’ seats.
