Delhi: The Centre has said it considering moving a review petition before the Supreme Court to allow political reservation of OBCs in local bodies and municipal corporations for the time being till the states comply with the triple test criteria set forth by the apex court.
The development comes after the Supreme Court decided to strike down the recent 27 percent reservation in favour of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local bodies made by Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments.
"In this connection, states are being advised to follow the reservation policy as per provisions of the Constitution in the election to the local bodies after observing all the criteria set forth by the Supreme Court," the Social Justice and Empowerment ministry said in a statement issued late Monday night.
The ministry said it is also considering moving a review petition before the Supreme Court to allow political reservation of OBCs in the local bodies and municipal corporations for the time being till the States comply with the triple test criteria set forth by the top court.
The triple test includes setting up a dedicated commission to conduct a contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness as regards local bodies within the state. The second condition is to specify the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned local body-wise as per recommendations of the commission, and the third test is that the reservation should not exceed an aggregate of 50 percent of the seats reserved in favour of SCs, STs and OBCs taken together.