The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the long-pending local body elections in Maharashtra to go ahead as scheduled, but issued a clear directive that reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) must not exceed the 50% ceiling in areas where the quota has not already crossed the limit.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, made the polls subject to the final outcome of ongoing proceedings that challenge the state’s reservation policy for OBCs in local governance bodies. The court also referred the issue to a three-judge Bench, noting its constitutional significance and scheduled the next hearing for January 21, 2026.
Polls to continue where process has begun
The apex court recorded that the election process is already underway in 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats, where nominations have been filed and voting is slated for December 2. It was informed that in 40 municipal councils and 17 nagar panchayats, reservations currently exceed the 50% cap.
In its order, the court said, “The elections to the Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats may take place as per the notified schedule. However, the result of 40 Municipal Councils and 17 Nagar Panchayats where the reservation is more than 50 per cent, shall be subject to the final outcome of these proceedings.”
The Bench repeated that elections and results in all local bodies would ultimately remain contingent on the Court’s ruling on reservation limits.
Remaining bodies free to initiate polls with conditions
The Bench also noted that the election process has not commenced for 29 municipal corporations, 32 zilla parishads and 346 panchayat samitis. While permitting authorities to initiate the electoral process for these bodies, the court insisted on strict adherence to the reservation cap.
The Bench was told that only two municipal corporations would cross the reservation ceiling. Elections in those constituencies, too, will be subject to the final court decision. The court clarified that results in areas with compliant quotas will also remain under judicial scrutiny.
Dispute dates back years
Local body elections in Maharashtra have been delayed since 2016-17 due to litigation over OBC quota levels. In August 2022, the Supreme Court ordered status quo, directing that polls remain tied to judicial outcomes.
A state-appointed Jayant Kumar Banthia Commission in 2022 recommended a 27% quota for OBCs within the overarching 50% reservation cap. With the report under challenge, the apex court had earlier directed elections to be held only with the pre-July 2022 reservation percentages.
In last week’s hearing, the court observed that authorities had “misconstrued” its earlier directions to infer that reservations could cross the 50% ceiling resulting in Friday’s clarification.
