SBCC interim report says upto 27 % reservation can be granted to OBCs in local body: Maharashtra to SC

The Maharashtra government has told the Supreme Court that the State Backward Classes Commission (SBCC) has submitted its interim report which said that up to 27 per cent reservation can be granted to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the local bodies, subject to the condition that the total quota shall not exceed 50 per cent limit.

New Delhi:The Maharashtra government has told the Supreme Court that the State Backward Classes Commission (SBCC) has submitted its interim report which said that up to 27 per cent reservation can be granted to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the local bodies, subject to the condition that the total quota shall not exceed 50 per cent limit.

In an application filed in the apex court, which is hearing pleas about the OBC reservation in local bodies in Maharashtra, the state has said that in the light of the interim report, the future election should be allowed to be conducted with OBC reservation. Advocate Sachin Patil, appearing for Maharashtra, said that as per the apex court's earlier order, they had submitted the data before the commission.

The commission has given the interim report wherein it is stated that up to 27 per cent reservation can be granted to the OBCs but without exceeding the limit of 50 per cent in that local body or in that local area. But, the overall cannot exceed 50 per cent, Patil said. The matter came up on Monday before a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar, which posted it for hearing on March 2.

On January 19, the top court had directed the state government to submit data on Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to the SBCC to examine its correctness and make recommendations on their representation in elections for the local bodies. The court had also directed the SBCC to submit the interim report to the authorities concerned in two weeks of receiving information from the state government.

The top court had in December last year directed the state election commissions of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to re-notify the seats reserved for the OBCs in the local bodies under the general category. The order had referred to the Constitution bench verdict of 2010 that had mentioned three conditions, including the setting up of a dedicated commission to conduct a contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness qua the local bodies in the states, which are required to be followed before provisioning such reservation for the OBC category.

It had also said that subsequently, a three-judge bench of the court had reiterated the same. A three-judge bench of the apex court had earlier said the reservation in favour of the OBCs in the local bodies in Maharashtra cannot exceed 50 per cent of the total seats reserved for the SCs, STs, and OBCs taken together. It had referred to the three conditions noted in the constitution bench verdict of 2010.

The conditions included specifying the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned local body-wise in light of the 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 per cent of the total seats reserved in favour of the SCs, STs, and OBCs taken together. PTI

PTI