Supreme Court allows Maharashtra local body polls to proceed as per schedule
"We will keep the matter before a three-judge bench in the second week of January, 2026", the bench has ordered.
‘Don’t Misread Our Order’: Supreme Court had said while freezing the Nomination Process in Maharashtra Local Body Polls
The Supreme Court today allowed the local body elections in Maharashtra can proceed as scheduled but that the poll results will be subject to the final verdict in the case.
Maharashtra’s decision to implement a fresh OBC reservation matrix for local body elections based on the Banthia Commission’s findings has been challenged before the Supreme Court.
"The elections of the Nagar Panchayats and Municipal Corporations shall take place. However, the result of 40 Municipal Corporations and 17 Nagar Panchayats shall be subject to the final outcome..", a bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justice Bagchi ordered today.
Last week, the Supreme Court had raised serious concern over the manner in which its earlier directions on Maharashtra’s local body elections were being interpreted, making it clear that the 50 percent ceiling on reservations cannot be breached under any circumstance. The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi had intervened after submissions indicated that the reservation matrix in several municipalities had exceeded the limit, contrary to previous constitutional mandates.
The Court had earlier extended the timeline for conducting the polls and directed that the elections must be held by January 31, 2026. It had also ordered that the delimitation exercise be completed by October 31, 2025.
In May this year, the Supreme Court had directed that Maharashtra local body elections, which had been delayed since 2022 due to a challenge to Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation, be conducted within four months.
It is to be noted that the Banthia Commission had recommended up to 27% reservation for OBCs in local bodies. However, its recommendations remain under challenge before the top court. While passing an interim order, the court said that the outcome of the elections will be subject to the outcome of the present. In August 2022, the Supreme Court had ordered the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) and the Maharashtra Government to maintain the status quo with regard to the election of the local bodies in the state.
The Maharashtra government had approached the Apex Court requesting it to recall its order directing the SEC not to re-notify the poll process to 367 local bodies, where it had already commenced, in order to provide reservations to OBCs. It is to be noted that the state government had come out with an ordinance providing 27 percent reservation to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in local body polls.
On July 20, 2022 the Supreme Court had directed the State Election Commission to notify all local body elections in Maharashtra within two weeks. This direction was passed in a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the amendment(s) to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, and Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats, Industrial Townships Act.
Case Title: Rahul Ramesh Wagh v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors
Hearing Date: November 28, 2025
Bench: CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi