More than half of district councils in Maha exceed 50% reservation cap

Over 22% of panchayat samitis, the taluka-level rural bodies, also have more than half of their seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs)

Mumbai: More than 53% of Maharashtra’s zilla parishads or district councils appear to have breached the 50% ceiling on reservation mandated by the Supreme Court, according to data finalised by district collectors. Over 22% of panchayat samitis, the taluka-level rural bodies, also have more than half of their seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), officials said.

Mumbai, India - 28 May 2018: Voters walking toward polling booth during Lok Sabha by election at Vikramgad Taluka in Mumbai, India, on Monday, May 28, 2018. (Photo by Pramod Thakur/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The breach of the cap is expected to be challenged in court. The Bombay High Court is already hearing a bunch of petitions concerning rotational reservation, ward formation and other pre-poll matters, which are expected to come up for hearing next week. Around 50% of voters participate in district council and panchayat samiti elections in Maharashtra.

The development comes as Maharashtra gears up to hold long-pending local body elections across the state, including polls for zilla parishads, panchayat samitis, and municipal corporations.

District collectors, who are responsible for finalising pre-poll modalities including reservation, announced the quotas for 32 district councils and 336 panchayat samitis earlier this week. Although the OBC quota has not crossed 27%, the proportion for SCs and STs has varied according to local population strength. In several districts and talukas with a dominant SC or ST population, the total reservation has crossed the 50% limit.

Districts such as Nandurbar, Palghar and Nashik, which have large tribal populations, have a significant number of seats reserved for STs. In the Nandubar district council, 44 of 56 seats are reserved for STs, along with 37 of 57 seats in Palghar. Likewise, SC-dominated districts, including Washim, Buldhana and Hingoli, have a significant number of seats reserved for STs.

Sachin Rajurkar, general secretary of the Rashtriya OBC Mahasangh, said that the breaching of the cap could be challenged in court. “The Supreme Court, on March 4, 2021, had struck down OBC reservation as it had crossed the 50% cap and asked the state election commission (SEC) to conduct elections to five district councils without OBC reservation. The Supreme Court, in May this month, while asking the SEC to conduct the local body polls with 27% reservation for OBCs, asked the stakeholders to approach it in case of any ambiguity.”

Activist Vikas Gawali, whose petition in 2021 led the Supreme Court to lay down the “triple test” requirement for OBC reservation, said, “The breach of the 50% cap may be challenged in court, and some people are planning to move court.”

Officials from the SEC maintained that the elections are being conducted as per the Supreme Court’s May 2025 order. “The Supreme Court made it clear that the OBC reservation would be a flat 27% based on the situation that existed before the Banthia Commission report was submitted in July 2022. This means it has allowed crossing the 50% cap on total reservation. It is now up to the apex court to decide on the breach of the quota verdicts given earlier,” said an official from the SEC, requesting anonymity.

State election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare concurred: “The SC, in its May order, has clearly asked us to go for the 27% OBC quota as per the pattern that existed before July 2022. This means the reservation drawn by the local bodies is in accordance with the apex court verdict.”

The 50% ceiling on reservation came into effect following the landmark Indra Sawhney (1992) and K Krishnamurthy (2010) judgments, which were repeatedly reaffirmed by courts. In 2021, a three-judge Supreme Court bench had directed the state to comply with the triple test for OBC quotas: an empirical inquiry by a dedicated commission, local body-wise data, and adherence to the 50% ceiling.