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The state unit of the Congress party in Telangana has announced that the Revanth Reddy government will approach the Supreme Court to challenge the interim stay by the High Court on the move to implement 42% reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections.
The state government will either file a Special Leave Petition or seek an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court on the matter, the party announced on Sunday, October 12.
On October 9, the Telangana High Court had granted stay on three Government Orders (GOs) providing 42% reservation to Backward Classes in local bodies across the state.
The Telangana government issued the GOs in September, as two Bills passed by the Assembly on August 31 to enhance BC reservation are still awaiting the President’s assent.
While the High Court questioned the state government for failing to meet the ‘triple test’ laid down by the Supreme Court for implementing OBC reservations in local bodies, the government’s counsel argued that it had complied with the test by appointing a dedicated commission to conduct a detailed empirical inquiry – the Social Education Employment Economic Political Caste (SEEEPC) Survey - into the backwardness of communities.
The division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin pronounced its orders after hearing the arguments for two days. It adjourned further hearing on the case for six weeks.
In Dr K Krishnamurthy vs Union of India (2010), a five-judge Constitution Bench reviewed the issue of reservations in local bodies, and laid down the 'triple test' to ensure the lawful implementation of OBC reservations. The government must do three things to finalise OBC reservations in local bodies:
1. It must establish a dedicated commission to conduct a detailed empirical inquiry into the backwardness of communities specific to local bodies. The commission would have to gather on-ground data to illustrate why specific communities are disadvantaged due to underrepresentation in local bodies.
2. It must specify the proportion of reservation to be provided local body-wise, based on the commission’s recommendations.
3. It must ensure that the total reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs do not exceed 50% of the total seats in local bodies.
The Supreme Court and High Courts have emphasised on the ‘triple test’ each time a state government has tried to enhance OBC reservation in local bodies.
The petitioners challenged the validity of the Telangana government’s GO enhancing BC reservation to 42% on the grounds that it violates Supreme Court order in the Indra Sawhney case, which capped the vertical reservations to 50%.
"With the Telangana government increasing reservations to Backward Classes from 25 to 42 per cent, the total reservations (including the reservations of 15 per cent to Scheduled Castes and 10 per cent to Scheduled Tribes), the total reservations reached 67 per cent. This amounts to breaching the 50 per cent cap fixed by the apex court," the counsels for the petitioners said.
With IANS inputs
