The Telangana High Court has stayed GO No. 9, which grants 42% BC reservation in local body elections. Just hours after the State Election Commission began the nomination process for ZPTC and MPTC elections, the court intervened. As a result, it issued interim orders halting the implementation of the GO and pausing the ongoing election process.
Additionally, the High Court delayed the notification for local body elections. It instructed the state government to file a counter within four weeks, while the petitioners were given two weeks to submit their objections. Following this, the court scheduled the next hearing six weeks later, keeping the election process temporarily suspended.
After two days of intense arguments over BC reservations, the High Court’s decision ensured a six-week halt to the election process. Earlier, the Congress government had issued GO No. 9 to implement 42% reservation for BCs in local body elections. However, Buttembari Madhav Reddy and Samudrala Ramesh challenged this order by filing petitions in the High Court.
Meanwhile, several leaders, including R. Krishnaiah and V. Hanmantha Rao, submitted impleading petitions supporting BC reservations. The bench headed by Chief Justice A.K. Singh began hearing all petitions on Wednesday, and arguments continued on Thursday, focusing on the constitutional validity of the GO.
During the hearing, Advocate General Sudarshan Reddy represented the Telangana government. He explained that the State Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution supporting a BC census. Moreover, he pointed out that Telangana conducted a comprehensive caste survey after independence, and a door-to-door survey was carried out without any public objections.
Furthermore, he told the court that the government unanimously decided to implement 42% reservation, emphasizing that BCs make up 57.6% of Telangana’s population. He also argued that the Assembly acknowledged the political backwardness of BC communities and sought to empower them through this reservation.
In contrast, lawyer Ravi Varma argued that the Constitution does not impose any 50% cap on reservations. He emphasized this point during his presentation, stating that SC, ST, and BC communities together form 85% of the population. Therefore, the provision of 42% and 67% reservations for these groups is justified. Additionally, he clarified that 33% of seats remain open for the remaining 15% of the population.
Finally, after reviewing all arguments, the High Court bench issued interim orders, staying GO No. 9 issued by the Telangana government. Consequently, the election process remains suspended until the next hearing, marking a significant pause in the state’s local election proceedings.
