The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea challenging the Telangana government’s order granting 42 per cent reservation to Backward Classes (BCs) in local bodies, prompting the petitioner to withdraw the plea with liberty to move the high court.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing the petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, which empowers citizens to directly approach the Supreme Court for enforcement of fundamental rights. At the outset, the bench questioned why the petitioner had approached the apex court directly instead of first approaching the high court.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that some petitioners had already approached the Telangana High Court, which had posted the matter for hearing on October 8 and refused to stay the government order (GO). To this, the bench remarked, “If the high court does not grant a stay, you will come here in (Article) 32?”
Following this exchange, the counsel sought permission to withdraw the petition. “The petition is accordingly dismissed as withdrawn with liberty as prayed,” the bench recorded.
The plea had challenged the Telangana government’s GO issued on September 26, 2025, which raised the quota for BCs in local bodies to 42 per cent. According to the petitioner, this pushed the total reservation to 67 per cent, breaching the 50 per cent cap on reservations laid down by the Supreme Court in earlier judgments.
Similar petitions are already pending before the Telangana High Court, where petitioners have argued that the 42 per cent quota violates the legal ceiling and is contrary to established law. The high court had earlier directed the state government and the State Election Commission to conduct gram panchayat elections by September 30.
The Congress government in Telangana had fulfilled an election promise by issuing the GO. It invoked Article 243D(6) of the Constitution, which allows states to make provisions for reserving seats in panchayats for Backward Classes.
The GO stated that the state had conducted a Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) survey to assess the relative status of different castes. Based on this, a one-man commission analysed the empirical data and recommended at least 42 per cent reservation for BCs in local bodies to ensure adequate political representation.
“After careful consideration of the Commission’s recommendations and in view of the Backward Classes population and their inadequate political representation, the government concluded that it was necessary to revise the existing level of reservation in local bodies to 42 per cent for their welfare and advancement,” the GO said.
