SC directs holding local body polls in Maharashtra

New Delhi: In an interim order passed on Tuesday, the Supreme Court directed the Maharashtra government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold local body polls in the state, reserving seats for OBC as existed prior to the 2022 J.K. Banthia commission.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N.K. Singh directed the SEC to notify the local body elections within four weeks, and asked the state poll body to endeavour to complete the election process within four months.

The SEC may apply for extension of time if needed, clarified the Justice Surya Kant-led Bench, adding that the elections shall be subject to the outcome of the petitions challenging the recommendations of the Banthia commission.

In August 2022, a bench headed by then Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana had directed the Maharashtra government and the SEC to maintain the status quo in connection with the poll process to the local bodies in the state.

Earlier in July 2022, the Supreme Court had accepted the recommendations of the Banthia Commission to apply 27 per cent OBC reservations in the local body elections in Maharashtra, and directed that elections for the local bodies in the state be notified in the next two weeks.

The top court, in December 2021, had ruled that the reservation for OBCs in local bodies will not be allowed unless the government fulfils the triple test laid down in the apex court’s 2010 order. The three conditions comprise setting up a dedicated commission for collecting empirical data on the OBC population, specifying the proportion of reservation, and ensuring the cumulative share of reserved seats doesn’t breach 50 per cent of total seats.

The Maharashtra government introduced the quota through an ordinance in 2021. The state government had contended that under the constitutional scheme, it was deemed fit to give political reservation to OBCs to ensure that they are duly represented inside the government and their voice is heard.

IANS