The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court quashed the Uttar Pradesh government’s draft notification and ordered Tuesday’s urban local body elections to be held without reservation for OBCs (Other Backward Class). Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh chief minister, stated that OBCs will be granted reservation in the urban body general elections if the commission is established.
OBC Reservation: Justice DK Upadhyay’s division bench and Justice Saurav Lavania’s joint bench passed the verdict. It annulled the notification that was issued December 5 by the Uttar Pradesh government for the reservation of OBCs in urban body elections.
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The Supreme Court ruled in favor of petitions challenging the OBC reservation draft’s preparation without the use of the Triple Test Formula. Petitioners had requested that the state government follow the Supreme Court formula and create a commission dedicated to studying the OBC political backwardness before fixing the reservation.
The state government claimed that it had done a quick survey and that it was as good or better than the triple-test formula.
Adityanath stated that the state government would appeal against the High Court verdict if necessary.
“The Uttar Pradesh government will establish a commission, and reservations will be made for citizens from Other Backward Classes (OBC), based on triple test in urban body general election. He tweeted that the urban body general election will only be held after this.
He said another tweet, “If necessary the State Government will also appeal to the Hon’ble Supreme Court following consideration of all legal aspects regarding decision by the Hon’ble High Court.”
The Lucknow bench concluded the hearing on Saturday. The bench, which was on winter vacation Saturday, stated that it would hear the case during recess because the matter related to democracy and elections in local bodies.
The state government will be in a bind after Yogi Adityanath’s rejection of the OBC reservation formula for the UP government was rejected. This would allow for immediate polls without the quota to take place in urban areas. The UP government is under threat from anti-OBC sentiments. However, the party will face an electoral challenge if they hold immediate polls.
Governments may also consider the verdict of Allahabad High Court a major reason to move to the Supreme Court.
What Did the December 5 Draft Notification from the UP Government Say
The state government in its December 5 draft notification had issued a provisional list of reserved seats for mayors of 17 municipal corporations, chairpersons of 200 municipal councils and 545 nagar panchayats for the three-tier urban local body elections and sought suggestions/objections within seven days.
The draft stated that four mayoral positions — Aligarh Mathura-Vrindavan Meerut Prayagraj, Meerut, and Mathura-Vrindavan — were reserved for OBC candidates. According to a PTI report, the mayor’s post in Aligarh was reserved for OBC women.
54 of the 200 municipal council chairpersons were also reserved for OBCs. 18 OBC women had their seats. OBC candidates were able to take 147 of the 545 nagar panachayat chairperson seats, including 49 for women.
Sunil Singh Sajan, spokesperson for Samajwadi Party in India (SP), stated that the order by Allahabad High Court was a “conspiracy” of the BJP government to deny reservation to backward classes.
