The Supreme Court on Monday fixed June 30 as the outer limit for completing elections to Bengaluru’s local bodies, directing the Karnataka government to adhere to a strict and non-extendable schedule for the long-pending civic polls.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the state government to publish the final ward-wise reservation by February 20, 2026, extending the earlier deadline of December 15. The court made it clear that no further extension of time would be granted at any stage of the process.
The directions were issued while the court was monitoring compliance with earlier orders concerning elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the newly created municipal corporations within the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA).
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Karnataka government, submitted that the exercise of finalising and notifying ward-wise reservations would be completed within a month. Taking note of this assurance, the bench fixed February 20 as the final deadline for publication of reservations.
Senior advocate KN Phanindra, appearing for the State Election Commission (SEC), informed the court that the publication of the final voters’ list was scheduled for March 16. He submitted that the elections could practically be held only after the conclusion of school and college examinations, as educational institutions are required to function as polling stations and teachers are deployed for election duties.
Phanindra told the bench that the board examinations would conclude on May 26, and assured the court that the SEC would schedule the elections immediately thereafter.Accepting the submission, the bench directed that polling be conducted as soon as the examinations conclude. “The elections in all circumstances shall be concluded before 30th June, 2026,” the court ordered, underlining that the timeline was mandatory.
The directions come amid prolonged delays in holding civic elections in Bengaluru, which has remained under bureaucratic and government-appointed administration since the term of the erstwhile BBMP council ended in September 2020.Last week, the Karnataka government notified reservations for 369 wards across five newly carved municipal corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area, a key procedural step towards conducting elections.
The reservations span the General, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories, with 50% of the wards reserved for women across all categories.The elections will mark a significant expansion of Bengaluru’s municipal governance structure. Unlike the previous civic polls, which were held for 198 wards, the next elections will cover 369 wards across five corporations, an increase of 171.
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