Supreme Court upholds Andhra Pradesh High Court judgment on BC reservations
The Supreme Court of India upheld a High Court ruling that struck down Andhra Pradesh's proposed reservation quotas for Backward Classes in local elections. The court cited the lack of empirical data to justify exceeding the 50% reservation ceiling.
Why it matters
This ruling reinforces legal precedents regarding reservation policies and the requirement for empirical data in Indian constitutional law.
The Supreme Court dismissed the Andhra Pradesh government’s plea against the High Court (HC) judgment on reservations for the Backward Classes (BCs) in elections to rural and urban local bodies (ULBs).
The HC had earlier this week set aside G.O. Nos. 105 and 1065 through which the government sought to provide 34% reservation to BCs in Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) and 33.33% quota in the ULBs, saying they exceeded the 50% threshold.
Hearing the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the State government on Friday (October 9, 2026), a Bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu turned down the State’s appeal, calling the HC order in the matter ‘very reasonable’.
Appearing for the State, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi submitted that there was no reason for the HC to reject as unreliable the data on the basis of which the percentages of reservation were determined by the State.
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