SC Dismisses Plea Against Telangana BC Quota Stay
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Telangana government’s Special Leave Petition challenging the High Court’s interim stay on increasing Backward Classes (BC) reservation to 42 % in local body elections.
High Court’s earlier stay
On October 9, the Telangana High Court paused implementation of Government Order No. 9, which had raised the BC quota from 25 % to 42 %. Critics said this would push total reservation beyond the 50 % ceiling established by prior Supreme Court rulings.
Arguments in Supreme Court
Counsel for Telangana argued the reservation law had become valid via “deemed assent” after delay in the governor’s formal approval. The state also claimed it met the “triple test” for reservation expansion. The Court, however, said elections should proceed under existing quotas and declined to override the High Court.
What comes next
The Supreme Court told the High Court to decide the case on its merits, unaffected by its dismissal of the state’s plea. The state must conduct local body elections while respecting the 50 % overall reservation cap.
