The Supreme Court on Wednesday urged the Maharashtra government to consider deferring the nomination process for the upcoming local body elections until the court adjudicates the dispute over granting 27 per cent reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh made the suggestion while posting the matter for detailed hearing on November 25. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, sought time to place additional documents on record concerning the OBC quota issue.
“Why can’t you consider deferring the nomination process till we look into the issue?” the bench asked.
Mehta submitted that only the nomination stage of the elections was currently underway. Opposing the state’s move, advocate Amol B Karande argued that allowing nominations to proceed would render the election process irreversible.
Justice Kant noted the court was aware of this concern and asked the petitioners to mention the matter again on November 25, when the bench would take up the issues.
On November 17, the court directed the state government not to breach the 50 per cent reservation ceiling in the upcoming local body polls and warned it may stay the elections if the mandate was violated. It also reiterated that polls could only be conducted based on the situation as it existed before the 2022 report of the J K Banthia Commission, which recommended a 27 per cent OBC quota.
The bench issued notice on pleas alleging that reservation levels in some local bodies had touched 70 per cent. It stressed that the Banthia Commission report remains sub-judice and recalled its earlier orders of May 6 and September 16, which permitted elections only under pre-commission conditions.
Justice Kant remarked that the court’s “simple orders are being complicated by state officials,” underscoring that deferring nominations was a logical step.
According to the State Election Commission’s (SEC) schedule issued on November 4, polling for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats is slated for December 2, with counting on December 3. The last date for filing nominations was November 17, scrutiny was fixed for November 18, withdrawals allowed until November 21, and symbols and candidate lists scheduled to be published on November 26.
The apex court has been monitoring Maharashtra’s local body election process for years due to disputes around OBC reservation. On September 16, it directed that all pending delimitation exercises be completed by October 31, 2025, and mandated that elections to all local bodies—including zila parishads and municipalities—must be conducted by January 31, 2026, with no extensions.
Earlier, on May 6, the court cleared the way for long-delayed local body polls by directing the SEC to notify elections within four weeks, while ensuring OBC reservation followed the legal framework that existed before the Banthia report.
The state had issued an ordinance granting 27 per cent OBC reservation in local body polls and sought a recall of the Supreme Court’s directions preventing re-notification of elections. On July 28, 2022, the court warned the SEC of contempt if it attempted to re-notify the poll process in 367 local bodies.
The issue traces back to 2021, when the Supreme Court quashed the SEC’s notification providing 27 per cent OBC reservation, holding that such quotas could not be allowed unless the state fulfilled the “triple test” laid down in a 2010 ruling.
The matter will now be heard on November 25.
