Elections to local civic bodies where reservations in excess of 50% have already been notified, will be subject to the outcome of the result of the writ petitions, the court stated.
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The Supreme Court, on Friday, asked the Maharashtra government and the Maharashtra State Election Commission to conduct local civic body elections in its interim order.
The court, however, restrained the Maharashtra State Election Commission from notifying reservations in excess of 50 per cent in the local bodies, where elections are yet to be notified. Elections to local civic bodies where reservations in excess of 50% have already been notified, will be subject to the outcome of the result of the writ petitions, the court stated.
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It clarified that the poll results of all local civic bodies in Maharashtra, including where the 50 per cent ceiling on quota have been breached, will depend on its final verdict which will be delivered on January 21, 2026.
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After Friday’s order, pending municipal elections will be held by maintaining the 50 per cent reservation limit. However, in exceptional cases, if this limit is exceeded, those elections will be held.
The apex court did not give any stay on the 57 seats whose issues have been resolved with the court decision. However, the fate of these 57 seats will now depend on the next hearing to be held on January 21, 2026. If the court verdict goes against the elected candidates, they may lose their elected positions, according to lawyers familiar with the matter.
Election Commission lawyer Advocate Balveer Singh stated that the reservation limit has been exceeded in some municipal councils and town councils. There is more than 50 per cent reservation in 40 municipal councils and 17 town councils. Besides, elections have not been announced yet in about 32 Zilla Parishads and 29 metropolitan municipalities, which includes the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as well as 332 village councils.
Elections to village councils and other local bodies are expected to be announced in the first week of December 2025, while elections to municipal corporations are likely to be announced by the end of December 2025.
The 50 per cent reservation limit has been exceeded in some municipal corporations. Among these, the 50 per cent reservation limit has been exceeded in Nagpur Municipal Corporation and Chandrapur Municipal Corporation.
The elections will be held in these places as per the decision of the Maharashtra State Election Commission.
However, the outcome of the hearing to be held on January 21, 2026 will be applicable to municipal corporations. Therefore, if elections in places where the 50 percent limit has been exceeded are cancelled, the elected candidates may have to step down from their positions and contest elections again, lawyers said.
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