Telangana High Court stays local body elections notification and BC reservation GO

The Telangana local body elections have been suspended following a ruling from the High Court. On Thursday, the second day of arguments regarding Backward Class (BC) reservations was heard, during which the court issued a stay on Government Order 9 (GO 9), which had implemented a 42% reservation for BCs in local body elections.

The High Court’s decision also included the suspension of the notification for the local body elections. The court has postponed the hearing on the BC reservations case for four weeks, instructing all parties to submit their counter-arguments within the next fortnight.

This interim ruling stemmed from various petitions challenging GO 9, prompting the High Court to listen to the government’s stance before taking action. As a result, the election schedule in Telangana is now temporarily on hold, casting uncertainty over the local body election process. The court indicated that it would render a final decision after reviewing the government’s counter-affidavit in subsequent hearings.