OBC Reservation Permitted In Maharashtra Local Bodies; SC Directs Election Commission To Issue Notification In Two Weeks
New Delhi, 20th July 2022: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that the election process for vacant local bodies in Maharashtra be notified within two weeks by implementing reservations for OBCs as recommended by the Backward Classes Commission. However, the court said that the said reservation would not apply to 367 local bodies where the election process had already started.
In December 2021, the Supreme Court directed that no reservation for OBCs in local bodies would be allowed unless they fulfil the triple test laid down by the Supreme Court in a 2010 judgment. The court had also directed that the OBC seats be re-notified as general category seats until the triple test is completed.
The Triple Test requires the state government to set up a dedicated commission to collect data on the backwardness of OBCs in each local body, specifying the proportion of reservation in each local body and ensuring that this reservation does not exceed 50% of the total seats reserved in favour of SC/ST/OBC.
On July 7, the commission submitted a report recommending OBC reservation to the state government. After which the state government filed an application in the Supreme Court on 9 July seeking permission from the court for conducting elections to the vacant local bodies involving OBCs.
A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar, AS Oka and JB Pardiwala, said, “To date, in 367 local bodies, the election program has started and will be continued and taken to its logical conclusion. Whereas for the remaining local bodies, we direct the State Election Commission and the State authorities to immediately initiate the election process in respect of each of those local bodies and following our direction dated 4th May 2022.”
The Election Commission will notify the election schedule within two weeks based on the delimitation of existing seats till March 10, 2022.
