Municipal Polls To Be Held Without Obc Reservation: Allahabad High Court

The High Court order

• Recently, the Allahabad High Court ordered that the OBC reservation provided in the Uttar Pradesh municipal polls did not fulfil the triple test conditions.
• The triple test was laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of K. Krishna Murthy(supra) and Vikas KishanraoGawali.
• The High Court has held that the triple test conditions laid down by the Supreme Court have to be mandatorily fulfilled by all the states.
• The Court observed that since completing the process of complying with the triple test conditions is an arduous task, hence “the State Government/State Election Commission shall notify the elections immediately”.

What is the triple test

• The triple test stipulated the following requirements:

1. A dedicated Commission must be set up to conduct "contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry" in the “nature and implications of backwardness qua local bodies”
2. The proportion of reservations in the local bodies will be specified in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission.
3. The cumulative overall reservations in the local bodies should not exceed 50%.

Government's response

• The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister ordered the constitution of a panel for drafting a reservation scheme fulfilling the triple test conditions.
• The Government may also file an appeal before the Supreme Court.