New DelhiThe Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the State Election Commission (SEC) of Maharashtra to notify 27 per cent seats in local body elections as general seats, which are reserved for the Other Backward Classes. (OBC) so that the election process can be carried forward.
The Supreme Court had on December 6 stayed the local body elections in Maharashtra on 27 per cent reservation for OBCs till further orders. The court had made it clear that the election process for other seats would continue. Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice C.T. Ravikumar’s bench was hearing the Maharashtra government’s application seeking modification of last week’s order.
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The bench directed the SEC to issue fresh notification for 27 per cent seats within a week. “In other words, the SEC should immediately issue fresh notification for the 27 per cent seats reserved for OBCs as general category and start the election process for these seats along with the election process,” the bench said. The same continues for the remaining 73 percent seats in the concerned local body.”
The Supreme Court passed this order last week while hearing two petitions. One of these petitions states that the provisions incorporated/amended through an ordinance allow for 27 per cent reservation uniformly for backward class citizens in the respective local bodies across Maharashtra.
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The bench, in its order passed on Wednesday, said that there is no reason to modify the December 6 order in this regard. However, it said that the hiatus cannot be continued indefinitely. The bench said the SEC should declare the results of both the elections on the same day as per the local body.
The Supreme Court said that this direction will also apply to the by-elections of the local bodies concerned. The court, while disposing of Maharashtra’s plea, said that this arrangement is subject to the outcome of the proceedings before it. The court fixed January 7 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
In March this year, the apex court had said that the reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes in Maharashtra cannot exceed 50 per cent in aggregate in the respective local bodies.