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Synopsis

The Supreme Court today agreed to hear Uttar Pradesh government's plea against the Allahabad High Court's order directing the State Election Commission to hold urban local body elections without reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

A CJI led bench agree to hear the matter on January 4th, after the same was mentioned by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

"We have been directed to conduct elections without reservations for OBCs, please hear it", SG Mehta submitted before the bench.

On December 27, the High Court's Lucknow Bench had directed the State Election Commission to notify the Urban Local Body (ULB) elections immediately. 

A division bench comprising Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Saurabh Lavania had further held that until the triple test/conditions as mandated by Supreme Court in K. Krishna Murthy and Vikas Kishanrao Gawali cases is completed in all respects by the State Government, no reservation for the Backward Class of citizens shall be provided in the elections to urban self-government bodies.

While notifying the elections the seats and offices of Chairpersons, except those to be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, shall be notified as for general/open category, the bench had, therefore, ordered.

The bench had reasoned that since the term of the existing Municipalities is about to end and the process of completion of triple test/conditions being arduous, is likely to take considerable time, therefore, the elections should be notified at the earliest without the OBC quota.

Moreover, the bench had ordered that the notification to be issued for elections shall include the reservation for women in terms of the constitutional provisions.

The order was passed in a batch of petitions challenging the proposed determination in the notification issued by the State Government on December 5, 2022 for providing reservations to the Backward Class of citizens in respect of seats and offices of Chairpersons of State's Municipal Bodies.