New Delhi: In a setback to the Telangana government, the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed its petition challenging a high court order that stayed a government order providing 42 per cent reservation to Backward Classes in local bodies.
“You continue with your elections with the same reservation that existed. Dismissed,” a bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said.
The Congress government in Telangana had issued the government order (GO) on September 26 to provide 42 per cent reservation to Backward Classes in local bodies.
Some of the petitioners before the high court challenged the government order of 26 September 2025, saying the 42% quota to Backwards Classes raises total reservation in local bodies to 67%.
“It breaches the 50% ceiling on reservations laid down by the court in its verdicts,” the petitioners claimed.
On 9 October, the Telangana High Court stayed this reservation hike while considering a batch of petitions filed on the issue. The high court had directed the state to file its reply in four weeks.
As per Bar and Bench, the High Court Bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin opined that such an increase in the OBC quota appeared to violate the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court in various case laws for such reservation.
Therefore, it stayed the GOs while clarifying that the local body elections can proceed without implementing the proposed OBC quota hike.
The Telangana government then filed a petition in the Supreme Court, challenging the high court’s interim stay.
On Thursday, 16 October, a Supreme Court Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta reportedly refused to interfere with the high court’s interim order.
As per Bar and Bench, the Supreme Court bench said that the local elections can continue without the proposed hike in OBC reservations.
“You may continue with your elections…(State’s appeal) dismissed … The order shall not affect the High Court in deciding the case on its own merits,” the Supreme Court was quoted a saying.
