The Supreme Court has again intervened in the matter of reservations for local body elections in Maharashtra, firmly stating that the total reservation cannot exceed 50%. The ruling was delivered on Monday, November 17, 2025, by a division bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi. The court has warned that it will stay the elections if this quota is breached.
The directive comes amidst concerns that in some instances, the reservation limits have been stretched to as high as 70% in the local body polls. The court's intervention was prompted by submissions indicating that the reservation matrix in several municipalities had exceeded the mandated limit, contradicting previous constitutional guidelines.
The core of the issue revolves around the implementation of reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the upcoming elections, which are scheduled for next month. The court clarified that the elections must adhere to the reservation framework that was in place before the 2022 J.K. Banthia Commission report, which had suggested a 27% quota for OBCs. The Supreme Court has emphasized that the recommendations of the Banthia Commission are still under review.
The Supreme Court's ruling is rooted in the established principle that total reservations, including those for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC), cannot exceed 50% of the available seats. This principle was previously laid down in the Vikas Kishanrao Gawali v. State of Maharashtra case, where the court introduced the "triple test" for OBC reservations. This test requires a dedicated commission to collect empirical data on OBC backwardness, reservation to be proportionate to the data collected, and the total reservation not to exceed 50%.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Maharashtra, sought time to respond to the concerns raised. The court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on November 19, 2025. In the meantime, the court has instructed the state government not to exceed the 50% reservation limit. The court also suggested the state pause acceptance of nominations if it sought more time. The Solicitor General assured the court that all steps taken in the interim would remain subject to the Supreme Court's orders.
The Supreme Court has previously addressed the issue of OBC reservations in Maharashtra's local bodies, paving the way for elections that had been delayed since 2022. The current directive reinforces the court's commitment to upholding the constitutional cap on reservations and ensuring that the electoral process is conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
