The petition, filed through advocate Somiran Sharma, raised the question whether States could increase the total reservation of seats in local bodies to breach the 50% ceiling.
| Photo Credit: DEEPIKA RAJESH
The Supreme Court declined on Monday (October 6, 2025) to entertain a petition challenging a Telangana government order enhancing the Backward Classes’ quota in municipalities and panchayats to 42%, leading to the total reservation of seats in local bodies in the State to touch 67%.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta however gave the petitioner, Vanga Gopal Reddy, liberty to approach the Telangana High Court against the September 26 order of the State government.
The Bench had queried why Mr. Reddy had moved the apex court in the first instance and not moved the High Court.
The petition, filed through advocate Somiran Sharma, raised the question whether States could increase the total reservation of seats in local bodies to breach the 50% ceiling.
Mr. Sharma pointed out the enhancement in the OBC quota had come prior to a notification issued by the Telangana State Election Commission announcing that the panchayat election process in the State would commence from October 9. Polling for the local bodies’ election in Telangana would happen in two phases on October 23 and October 27.
“Together with the existing 15% for Scheduled Castes and 10% for Scheduled Tribes, the aggregate reservation exceeds 67%, directly violating the 50% ceiling judicially prescribed by the Supreme Court,” the petition had argued before the apex court.
The 50% ceiling rule in reservation was established by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the Mandal Commission case judgment of 1992.
The September 26 order issued by Telangana had followed an attempt by the State to enact a law, The Telangana Backward Classes (Reservations of Seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill, 2025, to enhance OBC seats in local 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 order augmenting OBC quota in local bodies violated Section 285A of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, which expressly codified the 50% ceiling in reservation in local bodies’ seats.
Published – October 06, 2025 02:19 pm IST
