Local Body Polls In Maharashtra To Continue, Says SC, Pending Verdict On OBC Reservation Limits
Local Body Polls In Maharashtra To Continue, Says SC, Pending Verdict On OBC Reservation Limits
Pune, November 28, 2025: The Supreme Court on Friday clarified that local body elections in Maharashtra will move forward as planned, but the results will remain subject to the Court’s final ruling in a case challenging the State’s new OBC reservation matrix.
The petitions before the Court question Maharashtra’s recent decision to introduce a fresh reservation framework for OBCs in local body elections, based on the findings of the Banthia Commission. The challengers argue that the revised quota structure breaches the reservation limit previously set by the Supreme Court.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi examined the matter and decided to refer it to a three-judge Bench. The case has been scheduled for further hearing on January 21, 2026.
According to data presented by the Maharashtra State Election Commission, reservations for SC, ST and OBC communities exceed the 50% ceiling in 40 municipal councils and 17 nagar panchayats. The Court was also informed that two municipal corporations have similarly crossed the prescribed limit.
While allowing the election process to continue, the Court ruled that the final outcome for these bodies—where the reservation cap has allegedly been breached—will depend on the result of the ongoing proceedings. Elections in areas that do not cross the 50% reservation threshold will also have their results subject to the case outcome, the Court added.
Supreme Court hears plea concerning OBC reservation for Maharashtra polls
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) November 28, 2025
Sr Adv Indira Jaising: We dispute the Banthia commission report because the motive was to reduce the OBC count and only surnames were taken into account.
CJI Surya Kant: We have today a bench mark .. the… pic.twitter.com/uFHqzkrNcV
“Let the matter be listed before a three-judge Bench in the second week of January 2026. Elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats may proceed as notified, but the results in the 40 councils and 17 nagar panchayats shall be subject to the final decision of this Court. The same applies to the two municipal corporations where the cap has been exceeded,” the order stated.
The issue traces back to the Supreme Court’s 2021 Constitution Bench ruling in Vikas Kishanrao Gawali v. State of Maharashtra, which struck down the earlier 27% OBC quota and mandated a “triple test” for local body reservations. The test required the State to establish a dedicated commission, gather empirical data on OBC backwardness for each local body, and ensure that total reservations for SC, ST and OBC groups remain within 50%.
Maharashtra later appointed the Banthia Commission to complete this exercise. Its recommendations and the State’s new reservation matrix are now under judicial scrutiny. In a previous hearing, the Court had already emphasized that the State cannot breach the 50% reservation cap for elections scheduled for January 31, 2026.
