• Source:JND
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The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Telangana government’s plea challenging the High Court’s interim order that stayed the state’s move to expand reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) beyond the 50 per cent cap set by the apex court in the 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment. The state had contended that its decision to raise OBC quotas to 42 per cent for local body elections, taking the total reservation to 67 per cent, was a matter of policy.

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"A unanimous resolution of all parties supports this policy. How can it be stayed without pleadings? Barring the first few pages (of the High Court order), no reasons have been given for the stay," senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's government, said.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the Telangana government’s plea against the High Court’s October 9 order, observing that multiple judicial precedents prohibit breaching the 50 per cent ceiling on reservations.

"Who are these people (i.e., the High Court) to stay without even pleading. when it was passed unanimously by the legislature," he told Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Telangana government, argued that the 1992 Indra Sawhney judgment does not impose a strict 50 per cent cap on reservations and that the Supreme Court allows exceeding this limit in exceptional circumstances.

In response, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan defended the High Court’s interim order, citing previous Supreme Court rulings on reservation limits. He pointed out that the government’s order increasing OBC reservations to 42 per cent pushed total quotas beyond 60 per cent. He specifically referred to the 2010 K. Krishna Murthy Constitution Bench verdict, which reaffirmed the 50 per cent ceiling.

The High Court order under review was delivered last month by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin. It addressed petitions challenging three government orders: one granting 42 per cent OBC reservation and two related guidelines.

The court observed that the increase appeared to breach the 50 per cent cap and invoked the Supreme Court’s “triple test” for exceeding reservation limits. This test requires:

1. Establishing a commission to conduct an empirical study,

2. Determining reservation proportions based on that study, and

3. Ensuring that total reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs do not exceed 50 per cent.

The High Court found that the proposed increase failed this test at first glance and therefore stayed all three orders pending a final decision on their validity.

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The interim stay was issued on the Telangana government’s order increasing quotas for Backward Classes, while the state was directed to file its response within four weeks.

Petitioners argued that the September 26, 2025 order granting 42 per cent reservation to Backward Classes pushed the total quota in local bodies to 67 per cent, violating the 50 per cent cap set by the Supreme Court in earlier rulings.

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