Supreme Court gives nod to Maharashtra local body elections

The Supreme Court on Friday gave the green signal for holding Maharashtra local bodies elections, stalled since 2022, in a move to revive grassroots democracy in the State and transfer the running of panchayati raj institutions from bureaucrats to elected representatives.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi passed the order as an interim measure in a prolonged dispute over the political representation of Other Backward Classes in local bodies. The court was hearing petitions claiming that the State’s decision to allow 27% reservation to OBCs, on the basis of the J.K. Banthia Commission report, had led to the aggregate quota in several poll bound local bodies crossing the 50% cut off mark.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission, represented by senior advocate Balbir Singh, informed the court that reservation exceeded 50% in 40 out of the 246 municipal councils and 17 of the 42 nagar panchayats due for polls on December 2.

The Bench ordered that elections to these bodies should go ahead according to the notified election schedule. However, the court clarified that the results in the 40 municipal councils and 17 nagar panchayats, where reservation breached the 50% limit, would be subject to the final outcome of the current proceedings.

The court directed that the case be placed before a three judge Bench on the next date of hearing on January 21, 2026. The Bench had previously remarked that it would look into whether the “grey areas” around the 50% cut off on reservation in local bodies elections ought to be referred to a Constitution Bench. The court had also asked whether “service jurisprudence” ought to be applied to elections.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission further informed the court that the election process to 29 municipal corporations, 32 zilla panchayats and 336 panchayat samitis in the State had not yet commenced.

The court directed that the Maharashtra State Election Commission and the State government could initiate the election process in these three categories of local bodies. However, the reservation in them must not exceed 50%.

As far as municipal corporations were concerned, the court was apprised that only two of them exceeded the 50% ceiling in reservation.

Taking note of the submission that only two out of the 29 municipal corporations would exceed the reservation mark, the court ordered that elections to these bodies be notified without any delay and polls be held. It said the results of the two municipal corporations, where reservation exceeded 50%, would be subject to the outcome of the top court proceedings.

“Lastly, in respect of the 32 zilla parishads and 336 panchayat samitis, it is directed that wherever the reservation does not exceed the 50% mark, let the elections be held in accordance with our previous orders,” the court ordered.

“Institutions at the grassroots level have to be revived. People are not getting their representatives in the local bodies. All of them are being run by bureaucrats. We will allow the elections to be held,” Chief Justice Kant had clarified in an earlier hearing in November.