SC orders Maharashtra local body polls by Jan 31, 2026

THe sublime margaret court on tues set jan 31, 2026 as the final deadline for conducting all local body elections in Maharashtra, while reproaching the State Election Commission (SEC) for its “failure to take prompt action” and comply with earlier timelines. Extending the schedule as a “one-time concession,” the Court made it clear that no further extension will be granted.A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said that elections to all Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samitis, and municipalities must be completed within the stipulated period. “Elections of all local bodies…shall be conducted by January, 2026. No further extension shall be granted to state or the state election commission. In case any other logistic assistance required, SEC should approach this court before October 31, 2025. No such prayer will be entertained thereafter,” the order stated.The court further directed that the ongoing delimitation exercise must be concluded by October 31, 2025 and warned that it cannot be cited as a ground to postpone elections. It dismissed other reasons cited by the SEC, such as non-availability of electronic voting machines (EVMs), lack of school premises during board exams, and shortage of staff, underlining holding that these excuses betrayed administrative laxity.Also Read: Supreme Court declines to stay Waqf Act but halts key clauses“We are constrained to observe that SEC has failed to take prompt action for compliance of this Court’s directions in prescribed time schedule,” remarked the bench. Since board exams are scheduled only in March 2026, the bench said, they cannot justify delaying elections scheduled to end by January.To resolve staffing issues, the court directed the SEC to submit within two weeks the details of personnel required to the state’s chief secretary, who must coordinate with other departments and ensure availability within four weeks. On the shortfall of EVMs, the SEC was ordered to make arrangements and file a compliance affidavit by November 30.Local body elections in Maharashtra have been stalled since 2022 due to litigation over reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). In May this year, the Supreme Court had passed an interim order directing that polls be conducted as per the OBC quota regime that existed prior to the Banthia Commission report of July 2022.“The reservation shall be provided to the OBC communities as per the law as it existed in the State of Maharashtra before the 2022 report of the JK Banthia Commission,” the court’s previous order had clarified, while adding that elections should ideally be completed within four months, though the SEC was allowed to seek extension in exceptional circumstances.On Tuesday, the bench reiterated that the constitutional mandate of grassroots democracy through periodical elections must be respected and ensured. Since elected bodies have fixed terms, the bench noted, no irreversible harm would be caused if amendments to include or exclude certain OBC communities were considered later. But elections, it stressed, could not be held hostage to such delays.In Maharashtra, where the BJP-led Maha Yuti alliance is in power, the prolonged logjam stems from disputes over OBC reservations. Multiple pleas were filed in the Supreme Court, and when the court found that the government’s data collection efforts were further delaying local polls, it ordered in 2022 that OBC-reserved seats be reallocated to the general category to ensure timely elections. Despite several warnings, the state government did not move forward.As a temporary measure, the top court on May 6 this year ordered that the same reservation structure as in 2022 be applied and directed elections to be held within four months. Tuesday’s order comes against this backdrop of repeated non-compliance.According to records from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, elections are pending in 26 out of 34 Zila Parishads, 289 out of 351 Block Panchayats, and 26,723 out of 27,933 Gram Panchayats in Maharashtra. Consequently, funds worth nearly ₹3,000 crore have not been released to the state since 2022–23, leaving grassroots governance in limbo.