The Supreme Court declined to disturb the Andhra Pradesh High Court ruling that struck down 34% Backward Class reservation in local body elections for breaching the 50% ceiling.

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• On 9 October 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed the Andhra Pradesh government's plea against the High Court order quashing 34% Backward Class reservation in local body elections.
• On 1 October, an Andhra Pradesh High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Lisa Gill quashed two government orders, GOs 105 and 1065.
• The orders had provided 34% BC reservation in rural local bodies and 33.33% in urban local bodies.
• The High Court held that total reservations cannot exceed the 50% ceiling laid down in Supreme Court rulings.
• It found the empirical data from the state's Unified Family Survey invalid for justifying BC reservation beyond that ceiling.
• The High Court directed the State Election Commission to complete the election process within six weeks, noting that local body terms ended in March-April.
• It dismissed the YSRCP's plea to defer polls until the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls was complete, saying the revision was no hurdle.
• The state filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court soon after the High Court verdict.
• Separately, the Supreme Court said Andhra Pradesh local body polls should be conducted on old rolls if the revision is incomplete before notification.
• A 2020 High Court ruling had struck down an earlier 34% BC quota that took total reservation to 59.85%, and an appeal against it was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
• BCs currently have 24.15% reservation in local bodies, and the 34% quota was a 2024 election promise of the NDA.

Tags: BCReservation, LocalBodyElections, FiftyPercentCeiling