Centre plans review plea in Supreme Court on OBC quota in local polls

The Centre is planning to file a review petition in the Supreme Court to allow reservation for Other Backward Classes in the local body polls for the time being after the apex court struck down 27% OBC reservation in Maharashtra local body elections. If granted, this could come as a relief to the Uddhav Thackeray government.

The social justice and empowerment ministry is consulting the law ministry and other stakeholder ministries of panchayati raj, parliamentary affairs and home affairs to file the review petition.

In a press release, the ministry said: "The government is considering moving a review petition before the Supreme Court to allow political reservation of OBCs in the local bodies/municipal corporations for the time being till states comply with the triple test criteria set forth by the Supreme Court."


The triple test condition requires a state to set up a dedicated commission to conduct rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of 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 in the light of recommendations of the commission, and the third condition is that the reservation should not exceed an aggregate of 50% of the seats reserved in favour of SCs, STs and OBCs taken together.