The Supreme Court recently decided not to get involved in a legal challenge against the Telangana government’s order to significantly increase the reservation for Backward Classes (OBC) in municipalities and panchayats. This decision means the OBC quota will rise to 42%, pushing the total reservation of seats in local bodies within the state to an unprecedented 67%.
A judicial panel comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, however, granted the petitioner, Vanga Gopal Reddy, the option to pursue his challenge in the Telangana High Court, suggesting that the apex court was not the initial appropriate forum for this matter.
The core of Mr. Reddy’s petition, filed through advocate Somiran Sharma, revolved around a critical constitutional question: can states unilaterally raise the total reservation of seats in local bodies to exceed the widely accepted 50% ceiling?
Advocate Sharma highlighted that this increase in the OBC quota was announced just before the Telangana State Election Commission issued its notification for the panchayat elections, scheduled in two phases on October 23 and October 27. The timing emphasizes the immediate impact of this policy change on the upcoming electoral process.
The petition strongly argued that by combining the new 42% for Backward Classes with the existing 15% for Scheduled Castes and 10% for Scheduled Tribes, the overall reservation crosses the 67% mark. This, according to the plea, directly contravenes the 50% reservation limit that was judicially established by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the landmark 1992 Mandal Commission case judgment.
Interestingly, Telangana’s September 26 order followed an earlier attempt by the state to pass a law, “The Telangana Backward Classes (Reservations of Seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill, 2025,” to achieve this 42% increase. However, that Bill failed to receive assent from either the Governor or the President, making the government’s subsequent order a direct administrative action.
Mr. Reddy further contended that the Telangana government’s order to boost the OBC quota in local bodies also stands in violation of Section 285A of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018. This specific section, he pointed out, explicitly codifies the 50% ceiling for reservations in local body elections, adding another layer to the legal complexity of the state’s decision.