Maharashtra has approached the Supreme Court on 27% reservation for OBC in local body polls
The Maharashtra government has approached the Supreme Court seeking a recall of the court's December 15 order that stayed 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes, or OBC, in local body elections.
The Supreme Court had directed the State Election Commission to revert the 27 per cent reservation for OBC back to "general category".
While rejecting the quota, the Supreme Court had said the state government did not fulfil mandatory criteria of the "triple tests" before providing such reservation.
The "triple tests" refer to a set of guidelines. These include establishment of a commission to conduct an empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of backwardness in the form of local bodies within a state.
An important element is the proportion of reservation needed to be made in local bodies based on the commission's views to avoid "illusion of excess".
In March last year, the Supreme Court had said that reservation in favour of OBCs in local bodies in Maharashtra cannot exceed a total of 50 per cent of all seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs taken together.