Hyderabad, Oct 8 The Telangana High Court on Wednesday clubbed all petitions for hearing on the matter relating to 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes in local bodies.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh took up for hearing petitions challenging the Government Order (GO) for 42 percent quota for Backward Classes (BCs).
Congress Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued the case on behalf of the state government.
The Chief Justice made it clear that all petitions will be together taken up for hearing. He sought details of the petition filed in the Supreme Court on the same issue and observed that the Apex Court dismissed the petition as it wanted High Court to hear the matter.
B. Madhava Reddy and S. Ramesh had already filed petitions in the High Court, challenging GO - 9 which provided 42 per cent reservations for BCs in the local bodies.
The petitioners challenged the validity of the GO on the ground that it violates Supreme Court verdict in the Indra Sawhney case which capped the vertical reservations to 50 percent.
With the Telangana government enhancing reservations to BCs from 25 percent to 42 per cent the total reservations (including the reservations of 15 percent to SCs and 10 percent to STs), the total reservations reached 67 percent. This amounts to breaching the 50 per cent cap fixed by the Apex Court, the counsels for the petitioners said.
Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy informed the High Court that government had already amended Section 285-A of the Panchayat Raj Act to enhance BC quota. However, the petitioner's counsel said the Governor had not yet given consent to the two Bills passed by the Telangana Assembly which amended the Panchayat Raj Act.
Some politicians approached the High Court during the last two days, seeking to implead in the case in support of the BC quota.
CPI MLA K. Sambasiva Rao, BJP MP R. Krishnaiah, Congress leaders Charan Kaushik and Indira Shobhan and others filed the petitions.
Senior Congress leader V. Hanumanth Rao, former IAS officer Chiranjeevulu, Telangana Fisheries Corporation chairman Mettu Sai Kumar and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) member R. Laxman Yadav also filed petitions, seeking to implead in support of BC quota.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday held a meeting with a few Ministers to discuss key points to be presented before the High Court.
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Ministers N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar and V Srihari, AICC in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, and TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud were among those present.
The Chief Minister requested Abhishek Manu Singhvi to argue the case on behalf of the state government.
The meeting discussed the possible impact of the hearing on local body elections, whose schedule has already been announced.
The polls for rural local bodies will be held in five phases in October-November.
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