HC refuses to stay Gram Panchayat elections in Telangana over GO 46
Refusing to grant interim relief, the Bench directed the State government to file its counter-affidavit and posted the matter for further hearing after eight weeks
By - Sistla Dakshina Murthy
Telangana High Court (File Photo)
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday refused to stay the ongoing Gram Panchayat election process in the State, holding that once the election machinery has been set in motion, it cannot be halted midway.
A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh passed the order while hearing a writ petition challenging the government’s latest GO on reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in rural local bodies.
Govt asked to file counter
Refusing to grant interim relief, the Bench directed the State government to file its counter-affidavit and posted the matter for further hearing after eight weeks. The court observed that since the State Election Commission has already issued the election notification, judicial interference at this stage was not justified.
GO on BC Quota under legal challenge
The petition was filed by Madiwala Machadeva Rajakula Sangam, which questioned the legality of providing BC reservations without following the statutory sub-categorisation of BC communities into BC-A, BC-B, BC-C and BC-D groups.
The petitioner sought the quashing of GO 46, dated November 22, alleging that the order was issued without adhering to the mandatory sub-classification procedure and without making public the complete empirical data of the Dedicated Commission Report dated November 20.
42% reservation lacks sub-classification, says petitioner
The petitioner pointed out that the State government has forwarded a bill to the Governor seeking to amend Section 285-A of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, to enhance BC reservation from the existing 18–22 per cent to 42 per cent.
However, the proposed amendment does not provide for the statutory sub-classification of BC communities, which is essential for ensuring equitable distribution of the enhanced reservation, the petitioner contended.
Risk of reservation dilution feared
Due to the absence of sub-categorisation, the petitioner argued that the actual BC reservation in rural and urban local bodies may continue to fluctuate between 18 per cent and 22 per cent, depending upon ward-wise and village-wise voter composition. This, they said, would defeat the very objective of increasing BC representation to 42 per cent.
Earlier GO set aside
GO 46 replaced the earlier GO 42, issued on September 26, which had proposed a 42 per cent BC reservation. The High Court, in an interim order passed last month, had set aside GO 42 but permitted the government to proceed with the local body elections, subject to the condition that the total reservation for all categories should not exceed 50 per cent.
Election process in full swing
Meanwhile, the Telangana State Election Commission has already launched the Gram Panchayat election process, with voting categorised into three phases.
Nominations for the first phase began on Thursday in 4,326 villages covering 37,459 wards.
Polling Schedule: December 11, 14 and 17
Posts to be filled include:
- 12,728 Sarpanch posts
- 1,12,242 Ward Member posts
The electorate includes over 1.66 crore rural voters across the State.
