HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Monday brought up the state government for not filling any counter considering that 2019 over a batch of petitions challenging action of said federal government curtailing percentage of bookings for other backward classes (OBCs) in regional body elections to 22 percent from the earlier 34 per cent.A division bench making up Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B.

Vijaysen Reddy directed the state government to file an affidavit along with studies it had relied upon for deciding to minimize the reservation for OBCs.

The bench noted the matter for further hearing on April 19.

Counsel for petitioners mentioned that a person of the prayers in the batch of petitions finds mention in the most recent judgment passed on March 4, 2021, by a full bench of Supreme Court in the Vikas Kishanrao Gawali case, which is to proportionately increase portion of reservations for OBCs in regional body elections.The petitioners said that the state government had thought about the socio-economic study performed by the Telangana Backward Classes Cooperative Financing Corporation Limited to pick appointment percentages in regional body elections.

They argued that such study must rather have actually been performed by a proper commission like Telangana State Commission for Backward Classes.

How can the state enable the said corporation to conduct such strenuous study to establish reservation percentages for OBCs about making sure sufficient political representation in local bodies, the petitioners asked.

Speaking on behalf of the government, the Extra Supporter General kept that the corporation is an appropriate body, which was established to implement well-being schemes.

He submitted that the state has actually been counting on surveys conducted by proper commissions prior to elections.

Reacting to the government counsel's submission, the bench asked him to submit the relevant survey reports.As per petitioners' contention, the peak court has actually mandated that reservation portions for OBCs in local body elections should pass the triple test, which is (1) To set up a devoted commission to conduct simultaneous extensive empirical query into the nature and implications of backwardness qua regional bodies within the state; (2) To specify the proportion of booking to be provisioned regional body-wise in light of recommendations of the commission so as not to fall nasty of over breadth; and (3) In any case, such reservation shall not exceed the aggregate of half of overall seats reserved in favor of SCs/ STs/ OBCs taken together.

Petitioners kept that in conflict of this triple test, the state government had issued the 2018 and 2019 alerts listing OBCs reservation percentages on basis of 2011 Census information of the main government.