HC caps reservations at 50 PC

The government has decided to undertake a detailed study of the High Court judgment on conducting ZPTC, MPTC and Panchayat elections.

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy will soon hold consultations with PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana, BC ministers and leaders of BC welfare associations and other people’s representations on the issue of reservations before taking a final decision on elections.

The HC on Tuesday ordered the government to conduct elections to Panchayat Raj bodies within three months while capping the reservations of all categories at 50 per cent. “After finalizing the reservations, the elections must be conducted within three months,” said the court in its order.

A division bench consisting of acting chief justice PC Ghosh and justice Afjal Purkar rejected the government’s appeal to cap the total SC, ST and BC reservations at 60.5 per cent in the elections.

The court also rejected the argument of the government that it be allowed to provide 33.33 per cent reservations to BCs who constituted 33.39 per cent of the population as per the 2001 census.

However, while rejecting the government arguments, the court asked the advocate general to ensure all reservations are capped at 50 percent. “BC reservations also must come within this purview,” directed the court. "If necessary, you can go ahead with the elections as per the 2001 census," said the court.