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Hyderabad, October 14(PMI) The Telangana government has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court’s stay on a government order that grants 42% reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections.
The petition contests the September 9 stay issued by the Telangana High Court on G.O. Ms. No. 9, following two petitions that argued the reservation quota exceeded the Supreme Court-mandated 50% cap on total reservations.
In its plea, the State government argued that the Constitution does not explicitly mandate a 50% ceiling, and cited the Indira Sawhney vs Union of India judgment, which allows for exceeding the limit under extraordinary circumstances. The government maintained that it complied with all legal requirements laid down in the Vikas Kishanrao Gawali vs State of Maharashtra case before issuing the order.
The SLP further stated that a comprehensive socio-economic survey (SEEPC) had revealed that BCs make up 56.33% of Telangana’s population. Based on this data, and the recommendations of a commission led by retired IAS officer B. Venkateshwara Rao, the government fixed the reservation for BCs at 42%.
The Telangana BC Reservations Bill 2025 was passed by both the Legislative Assembly and Council in March and was forwarded to the Governor, who in turn sent it to the President of India. The Union Home Ministry later sought clarifications from the State, which were provided in July. Since then, no further action has been taken, the government told the apex court.
The petition also pointed out that as per constitutional interpretation, if no decision is taken on a Bill passed by the State Legislature within three months, it should be considered as deemed assent.
In light of these arguments, the Telangana government urged the Supreme Court to set aside the High Court’s stay and permit the conduct of local body elections with the proposed 42% BC reservation.(pressmediaofindia.com)
