Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday ordered a stay on the implementation of Government Order (GO) MS No. 9, which proposed 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in the upcoming local body elections.
In its interim order, the court suspended the operation of the GO until further directions are issued.
The bench also issued a notice to the CM Revanth Reddy-led government, instructing it to submit a counter affidavit within four weeks, after which the petitioners will have two weeks to file their rejoinders.
The ruling came after two days of extensive hearings in the High Court examining the legality and fairness of the increased BC quota in local body elections.
During Wednesday’s hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the government order, the court asked the state whether due diligence and “sufficient application of mind” were exercised in collecting and analyzing the data that formed the basis of the enhanced quota.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin made the observations while referring to the Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political, and Caste (SEEEPC) survey, conducted by the state government between November and December 2024.
The findings of this survey were used to justify the hike in BC reservation from 25 per cent to 42 per cent.
“Has sufficient application of mind gone into the process, by the Backward Classes Commission, the body collecting the data, and the government that accepted it?” the Bench asked.
“Once the data is published and the Commission submits its report, is there not a requirement for publication, inviting objections, addressing them, and only then accepting the findings?”
The Telangana government, on September 26, issued GO MS No. 9, providing 42 per cent reservation for BCs in the forthcoming local body elections, scheduled in phases across October and November.
A Vacation Bench, which heard the issue on September 27 under a house motion petition, had earlier questioned the urgency behind the government’s move and the absence of the Governor’s assent for the related Bill.
