Supreme Court upholds high court ruling, blocks 34% Backward Classes quota in Andhra local elections

The Supreme Court dismissed Andhra Pradesh's challenge to a high court decision that nullified the government's attempt to restore a 34% reservation for Backward Classes in rural and urban local bodies. Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu held that the October 1 judgment was sound because the state failed to provide the empirical study mandated by Supreme Court rulings to justify reservations beyond the overall 50% ceiling for SC, ST and BC seats.

Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi could not convince the bench that the state's demographic survey and community consultations satisfied the required data-driven inquiry. The high court had previously ordered the state to conduct a detailed exercise to establish backwardness, referencing the Vikas Kishanrao Gawali case. While the state argued its 2026 survey showed a Backward Classes population of about 50%, the court said that alone was insufficient. The decision leaves the quota at its previous level and allows the government to revisit the issue after completing the mandated empirical study.