The Telangana High Court on Wednesday adjourned its hearing on the 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections until Thursday, October 9th, at 2:15 pm. Crucially, the court opted not to issue a stay on the election process, despite the pending legal challenge, as the State Election Commission (SEC) is scheduled to release the official notification for the polls on Thursday.
Appearing for the state government, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi informed the bench that the election schedule had already been released. He argued that granting a stay at this stage would not be appropriate, submitting a copy of the election notification and citing established legal precedents which state that courts should not intervene once the electoral process has commenced.
Singhvi further contended that the BC reservation bill was introduced only after a comprehensive study, leading to the relevant Government Order (GO No. 9). He requested the court to take a decision on the validity of the GO only after hearing complete arguments from both sides, assuring that the state would present its full submissions.
Following the submissions, the High Court adjourned the hearing to Thursday afternoon for further proceedings, allowing the matter, which has drawn wide attention across the state, to continue.
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