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In a jolt to the Telangana government, the Supreme Court on Thursday, October 16, refused to interfere with the interim stay granted by the Telangana High Court on a Government Order (GO) providing 42% reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local bodies across the state.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta clarified that the Telangana High Court should continue hearing the petitions challenging the BC quota on merits, uninfluenced by the dismissal of the state government's Special Leave Petition (SLP).
On October 9, the Telangana High Court stayed the operation of the impugned GO till further orders and also stayed the notification for local body elections in the state.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin posted the matter for further hearing after six weeks, and in the meantime, directed the state government and the State Election Commission to file comprehensive counter-affidavits within four weeks.
The petitioners challenged the validity of the GO on the ground that it violates the Supreme Court decision in the Indra Sawhney case, which capped the vertical reservations to 50%.
They argued that with existing SC and ST quotas of 15% and 10%, the aggregate reservation now exceeds 67%. On the other hand, Advocate General A Sudarshan Reddy submitted that the Telangana government had already amended Section 285-A of the Panchayat Raj Act to enhance the BC quota.
Last week, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea challenging the Telangana government's decision to increase reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in local bodies to 42%. It questioned the petitioner for instituting a writ petition before the top court, even though the Telangana High Court is scheduled to hear similar petitions on October 8.
“If the(Telangana) High Court doesn’t grant the stay, that means you will come here under Article 32?” the Justice Nath-led Bench had remarked. Sensing the disinclination of the apex court to entertain the plea, the petitioner side sought permission to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to approach the Telangana High Court.