The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave last extension to the Maharashtra government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to conduct local body polls in the state. Ruling out further extension, the Supreme Court asked the concerned bodies to hold the polls by January 31, 2026. Granting a one-time concession to the state poll body, the Justice Kant-led Bench clarified that no further extension would be granted.

A Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi criticised state authorities for ignoring its earlier order to conclude the election process within four months—by August 2025—by reinstating OBC seats as they existed before the 2022 J.K. Banthia Commission. The Supreme Court has now directed that the delimitation exercise must be completed by October 31, 2025, while making it clear that any delay in the process cannot be cited as a reason to postpone local body elections.

In an interim order passed on May 6, the Supreme Court had directed the SEC to notify the local body polls within four weeks, and had asked the state poll body to endeavour to complete the election process within four months.

The SEC may apply for extension of time if needed, clarified the Justice Surya Kant-led Bench, adding that the elections shall be subject to the outcome of the petitions challenging the recommendations of the Banthia commission.

In August 2022, a bench headed by then Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana had directed the Maharashtra government and the SEC to maintain the status quo in connection with the poll process to the local bodies in the state.

The Supreme Court, in July 2022, had accepted the recommendations of the Banthia Commission to apply 27 per cent OBC reservations in the local body elections in Maharashtra, and directed that elections for the local bodies in the state be notified in the next two weeks.

The top court, in December 2021, had ruled that the reservation for OBCs in local bodies will not be allowed unless the government fulfils the triple test laid down in the apex court’s 2010 order.

The three conditions comprise setting up a dedicated commission for collecting empirical data on the OBC population, specifying the proportion of reservation, and ensuring the cumulative share of reserved seats doesn’t breach 50 per cent of total seats.

The Maharashtra government introduced the quota through an ordinance in 2021. The state government had contended that under the constitutional scheme, it was deemed fit to give political reservation to OBCs to ensure that they are duly represented inside the government and their voice is heard. (With IANS inputs