Supreme Court to Hear On March 24, Uttar Pradesh's Plea Relating To OBC Reservation In Urban Local Body Elections

The Supreme Court today has agreed to list on next Friday i.e. March 24, Uttar Pradesh Government’s plea relating to OBC reservation in urban local body polls when the Court was told by the Solicitor General that the report related to OBCs has been prepared by a dedicated Commission.

“We will keep it on (next) Friday i.e. March 24,” said the Bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha when the case was mentioned for urgent listing.

“This is regarding reservation of OBC in Panchayats (in Uttar Pradesh). Report has been prepared by the Commission in accordance with the judgment of this Court,” said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented Uttar Pradesh before the Apex Court.

The Uttar Pradesh government moved the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court's order quashing its draft notification on the urban local body elections and directing the state to hold the polls without reservation for the Other Backward Classes.

The Supreme Court on January 4, stayed the direction of the High Court saying that “[p]rima facie, the high court is not correct in …… directing the holding of elections without the provision of representation for the Backward Classes.”

On December 28 of the last year, the Uttar Pradesh government had appointed a five-member commission for going into the entire gamut of issues for providing reservation to the OBCs in urban local body polls.

The Lucknow bench of the High Court had ordered that the state government should notify the polls "immediately" as the term of several municipalities would end by January 31, while annulling the December 5 draft notification.

The Court had directed the state election commission to hold the elections by January 31 after transferring the OBC seats in the draft notification to the general category.

The High Court's order had come on the pleas challenging the preparation of the OBC reservation draft without following the "triple test" formula prescribed by the Supreme Court.

The triple test requires setting up a commission to hold a "rigorous empirical inquiry" into the nature of the "backwardness" in the context of the local bodies, specifying the proportion of reservation based on the commission's recommendations, and ensuring that it does not exceed the overall 50 per cent quota limit.

The High Court had held the triple test condition formulated by the Supreme Court 11 years ago mandatory. "Until the triple test is completed in all respects by the state government, no reservation for Backward Class of citizens shall be provided," the order said.

Cause Title- State of Uttar Pradesh v. Vaibhav Pandey & Anr.