MP local body polls: SC directs SEC to re-notify seats reserved for OBCs as general category
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The Supreme Court directed the State Election Commission (SEC) on Friday to stay the election process on seats reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the local body in Madhya Pradesh and re-notify those seats for the general category.
A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar observed that it had passed an order on December 15 directing the SEC to notify the seats in the local body in Maharashtra, which were reserved for the OBCs, as general category.
It said the same principle and analogy must apply in the local body election in Madhya Pradesh as well.
"Accordingly, we direct the State Election Commission to stay the election process only in respect of Other Backward Class seats in all the local bodies and to re-notify those seats for general category," the bench said while hearing the Madhya Pradesh matter.
The apex court passed the order after the matter related to local body election in Madhya Pradesh on seats reserved for the OBC was brought to its notice.
The bench referred to the constitution bench verdict of 2010 which had mentioned the triple condition, including setting up a dedicated commission to conduct a contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness qua local bodies within the state, which is required to be followed before provisioning such reservation for the OBC category.
It said later, a three-judge bench had reiterated the same.
"We don't want any experiments to be done in Madhya Pradesh. It has to be consistent with the constitution bench judgement, as reiterated by three-judge bench and the other day, in the order in Maharashtra case. Bring it in sync with that," the bench orally said during the hearing.
The top court observed that grievance made before it in the application is that as per liberty given by the apex court on December 15, the applicants had moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court for urgent relief on the issue.
It noted the high court has opined that since the main matter is listed for hearing in the first week of January, the entire issue can be considered at that time.
The bench observed that the election process for the local body on the seats reserved for OBC need to be stayed as it is in conflict with the decision of the constitution bench, which was reiterated by a three-judge bench.
It directed that the result of the election in Madhya Pradesh will be declared together on the same day.
It said the matter pertaining to Madhya Pradesh would be listed along with the Maharashtra case.
In March this year, a three-judge bench of the apex court had said that reservation in favour of OBCs in the local bodies concerned in Maharashtra cannot exceed 50 per cent of the total seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and OBCs taken together.
The top court had referred to the triple condition noted in the constitution bench verdict of 2010.
The conditions included to specify the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned local body-wise in light of recommendations of the commission so as not to fall foul of overbreadth and in any case such reservation shall not exceed an aggregate of 50 percent of the total seats reserved in favour of SCs/STs/OBCs taken together.
