Maha Gets SC Nod For Local Polls

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed local body elections in Maharashtra, held up on account of a challenge to reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) since 2022, to be notified and held within four months, while directing that the outcome of the elections will be subject to the decision by the top court on the pending challenge to the state law extending 27% reservation for OBCs in local bodies.

- Abraham Thomas

NEW DELHI:

A bench headed by Justice Surya Kant passed the order after realizing that the elections to local bodies were held up on account of a status quo order passed by the top court in August 2022. In the case of some of the local bodies at Panchayat and Gram Sabha level, there were no elections conducted for past five years.

In an interim direction passed in the matter, the bench, also comprising Justice N Kotiswar Singh said, "In our opinion, the constitutional mandate of grassroots democracy through periodical election of local bodies ought to be respected and ensured since elected bodies have a prescribed term and no irreversible damage will be caused."

When asked if the verdict will apply to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, which last took place in 2017, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told HT that the judgment will apply to the Mumbai civic body polls.

The court directed the Maharashtra state election commission to notify the local body polls within four weeks. As regards the contentious issue of OBC reservation, the top court order said, "The reservation will be provided to OBC community as existed in the state prior to the Bainthia Commission report."