A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was informed by the SEC that elections for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats have already been notified for December 2
Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing in the Maharashtra local body elections matter to Nov 28. File Pic
The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing in the Maharashtra local body elections matter to November 28 after the state government requested more time, stating that it was holding discussions with the State Election Commission (SEC) regarding the 50 per cent ceiling on reservations, reported the IANS.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was informed by the SEC that elections for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats have already been notified for December 2, and that in several of the local bodies heading for polls, the reservation limit of 50 per cent has been exceeded, according to the IANS.
The SEC further informed the court that elections for zila parishads, municipal corporations and panchayat samitis have not yet been notified.
Taking note of these details, the CJI observed that the excess reservation in the 57 local bodies would remain subject to the outcome of the proceedings currently before the Supreme Court.
The Bench led by CJI Kant also advised the SEC not to exceed the 50 per cent reservation limit in any subsequent election notifications.
“These 57 will remain subject to the result of these proceedings. Any further election you notify must comply with the 50 per cent ceiling limit,” the apex court told the SEC, as per the IANS.
Earlier, in May this year, the Supreme Court had directed that the local body elections be completed within a period of four months, with OBC reservation restored as per the pre-2022 legal framework established by the J.K. Banthia Commission.
It had clarified that the elections would be subject to the final outcome of petitions challenging the Banthia Commission’s recommendations.
In a later hearing on 16 September, the apex court criticised the state authorities for failing to comply with its earlier directions to complete the election process by August, and once again ordered the SEC to conduct the local body polls by January 31, 2026.
The court also instructed that the delimitation process be completed by October 31, emphasising that any delay in delimitation would not serve as a justification to postpone the local body elections.
(with IANS inputs)
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