The Maharashtra government on Monday moved the Supreme Court against the stay on the state’s ordinance providing 27% reservation to Other Backward Classes in the local body polls, Bar and Bench reported. The state government has sought a recall of the order.
The Supreme Court will hear the matter on Wednesday.
On December 6, the court had put a hold on the elections to seats reserved for the Other Backward Classes, saying that the decision to provide the quota was taken without the Supreme Court-mandated triple test.
In the first step of the triple test, a commission is formed to hold an empirical investigation into the nature and implication of backwardness in the local bodies of a state. During the second step, the panel recommends the proportion of reservation needed for the local body.
In the third step, it is ensured that the reservation does not exceed the aggregate 50% of the total seats kept aside jointly for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
At another hearing on the matter on December 15, the Supreme Court had directed the Maharashtra poll body to de-notify the 27% seats reserved for the Other Backward Classes and issue a fresh notification declaring them under the general category for the local body polls.
Also, the Supreme Court had on December 17 had asked the Madhya Pradesh Election Commission to re-notify the seats reserved for Other Backward Classes in local body polls for the general category members.
The commission was asked to follow the rules of the triple test.
The central government has moved the Supreme Court seeking to recall the verdict in the Madhya Pradesh matter.
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