Telangana High Court directs EC to conduct local body elections without crossing 50% reservation limit

 The Telangana High Court has advised the State Election Commission (SEC) to proceed with the local body elections, ensuring that the total reservations do not exceed 50%. Earlier, the High Court had stayed the implementation of GO 9, through which the Telangana government had allotted 42% reservation for BCs in local body elections. In its detailed judgment released late on Friday night, the court cited Supreme Court guidelines stating that total reservations in elections should not cross the 50% cap. The bench clarified that the additional 17% reservation introduced by the government could be treated as open category seats and re-notified accordingly, allowing the election process to continue smoothly. The court also clarified that it does not intend to interfere with or halt the election process. Its direction is limited only to ensuring compliance with the constitutional reservation limit, the High Court added.