OBC reservation in local bodies

Polity & Governance glossary

Topic: Panchayati Raj: Rural Local Government · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 8 "Local Governments"

Meaning

Article 243D(6) lets a state reserve local-body seats for backward classes (OBCs), but it does not have to. In K. Krishna Murthy (2010), the Supreme Court upheld this kind of reservation but capped total reservation at 50%. In Vikas Kishanrao Gawali (2021), the Court laid down a triple test, a set of three conditions:

  1. a dedicated commission studies backwardness in each local body;
  2. the OBC share is fixed body by body, based on that data;
  3. total reservation stays within 50%.

Example

In Suresh Mahajan (2022), the Supreme Court ordered Madhya Pradesh to hold local polls without the OBC quota until the triple test was met.

Don't confuse with

  • SC/ST reservation under Article 243D: it is compulsory and based on population share. OBC reservation is optional.

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