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Hyderabad, Oct 9 (IANS) In a blow to the Telangana government, the state High Court on Thursday stayed the government order (GO) providing 42 per cent reservation to backward classes in local bodies across the state.
In its interim order on the petitions challenging the GO, the High Court stayed the operation of the GO till further orders.
The court also stayed the notification of local body elections in the state.
The division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin gave its order after hearing the arguments for two days.
It adjourned further hearing on the case for six weeks.
The bench directed the state government and the State Election Commission to file a comprehensive counter affidavit within four weeks.
It gave two weeks’ time to the petitioners to file their reply.
The court order has put a stay on the process of rural local body elections.
The notification for the first phase of voting was released on Thursday.
The State Election Commission can make an announcement regarding the electoral process after studying the court order.
B. Madhava Reddy and S. Ramesh had already filed a petition in the High Court challenging the government that had provided 42 per cent reservation for backward classes in local bodies.
The petitioners challenged the validity of the GO on the grounds that it violates the Supreme Court order in the Indra Sawhney case, which had limited vertical reservation to 50 per cent.
Counsel for the petitioners said, “With the Telangana government increasing the reservation for Backward Classes from 25 to 42 per cent, the total reservation (including 15 per cent reservation for Scheduled Castes and 10 per cent for Scheduled Tribes) reached 67 per cent. This is in violation of the 50 per cent limit fixed by the apex court.”
Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy had submitted that the state government has already amended Section 285-A of the Panchayat Raj Act to increase the backward class reservation.
However, the petitioner’s counsel said Governor Jishnu Dev Varma has not yet given assent to the two bills passed by the Telangana Assembly that amended the Panchayat Raj Act.
Some political leaders approached the High Court seeking to become parties to the case in support of the backward class quota.
CPI MLA K. Sambasiva Rao, BJP MP R. Krishnaiah, Congress leaders Charan Kaushik and Indira Shobhan and others filed petitions.
Senior Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao, former IAS officer Chiranjeevulu, Telangana Fisheries Corporation Chairman Mettu Sai Kumar and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) member R. Laxman Yadav also filed petitions demanding to become a party in support of backward class reservation.
–IANS
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