Telangana HC stays govt order on 42 pc BC reservation in local body polls

The Telangana High Court on Thursday stayed the implementation of GO MS No. 9, which granted 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in the forthcoming local body elections. Issuing interim orders, a division bench suspended the GO’s operation until further notice. The next hearing of the case has been posted for six weeks later.

Continuing the hearing on the second day, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin directed the State government to file a counter-affidavit within four weeks. 

The petitioners were given two additional weeks to submit



their objections, with the next hearing scheduled after six weeks.

The ruling came after two days of intense arguments over the legality and proportionality of the enhanced quota. The petitioners had challenged the GO, contending that it violated the constitutional ceiling of 50 per cent total reservation and lacked adequate empirical data to justify the increase.

The court’s interim order effectively halts the State government’s plan to conduct the local body elections under the new quota framework, even as the State Election Commission (SEC) issued notices on Thursday inviting nominations for ZPTC and MPTC seats.