The Supreme Court has dealt a significant blow to the Telangana government regarding backward class (BC) reservations. The apex court has made it clear that local elections must be conducted within the 50 per cent reservation limit, rejecting the state government’s petition to allow elections under the recently issued Government Order (GO) that proposed a total of 67 per cent reservations.

Earlier, the Telangana government issued a GO granting 42 per cent reservations to BCs, which pushed total reservations to 67 per cent. Notifications for local elections were issued based on this GO. However, petitions were filed in the High Court claiming that this exceeded the constitutional limit. The High Court issued a stay on the GO and suggested that elections be conducted with the existing 50 percent reservation limit, including 17 percent unreserved seats. The Telangana government then approached the Supreme Court, hoping for relief, but the apex court upheld the 50 percent cap.

As a result, the Telangana government must now conduct local elections strictly within the constitutional reservation limits. The state may still communicate to BC communities that it remains committed to their welfare, but any attempts to exceed the 50 percent cap through party-based reservations have been firmly blocked by the Supreme Court. This ruling reinforces the constitutional principle of equality and prevents states from arbitrarily expanding reservation quotas beyond the legal ceiling.