SC Orders Maharashtra to Notify Local Body Polls Within Four Weeks, Ends Years-Long Delay

The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to notify pending local body polls within four weeks and hold the process within four months, putting an end to a stalemate due to OBC reservation disputes since 2022. The elections will proceed with OBC reservation as it existed prior to the 2022 Banthia Commission report, and the court asserted that election results will be pending its final judgment on live legal appeals against the reservation policy. The court, headed by Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, emphasized that grassroots democracy can't be taken hostage by process delays and elected institutions must be re-established across the whole of Maharashtra-major municipalities and rural panchayats. The order is regarded as widely welcomed by political parties, who are gearing up for what is set to be a high-stakes poll battle in the state.

 

Source: Indian Express, Hindustan Times, UNI India, Times of India, The Week