Telangana High Court Demands Survey Timeline for BC Reservations in Local Elections

The Telangana High Court has instructed the state government to provide information by August 27 regarding the time needed to conduct a survey for making recommendations on reservations for BCs and other categories in local body elections. A bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas was hearing several petitions seeking the implementation of reservations for BCs in different categories in local body elections, including the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

The bench referred to the Supreme Court’s previous direction that states should establish a dedicated commission to conduct a “contemporaneous empirical survey” to gather data on various BC categories before allocating reservations. The petitioners challenged the authority given to the BC Finance Corporation to collect empirical data on BCs, arguing that it should be carried out by a dedicated commission.

In 2021, the Telangana government designated the existing BC Commission as a “Dedicated Commission” and granted it the power to conduct the empirical survey, according to BC Commission sources. The petitioners argued that the notification for local body elections should only be issued after the survey is completed.

The high court’s directive is in response to a petition filed by BRS leader Sravan Dasoju, who, along with others, sought a direction to the Telangana government, the state election commission, and other respondents to promptly carry out the exercise. The HC has scheduled the next hearing for August 27.