A public interest litigation challenging the Gujarat government’s 27% OBC reservation policy in local body elections is set for a critical hearing before the Chief Justice’s bench of the Supreme Court on April 10, 2026. The PIL, filed by Patidar leader Dinesh Bambhania, seeks a stay on the election process until the reservation dispute is resolved.
The petition raises three specific challenges against the 27% OBC quota applied across panchayats, municipalities, and municipal corporations in the state.
First, it questions whether the government followed the Supreme Court’s triple test criteria before finalising the reservation. Second, it flags whether the total reservation combining SC/ST and OBC quotas breaches the court-mandated 50% ceiling. Third, it challenges the constitutional validity of seat allocation based on the Justice Zaveri Commission report.
The Gujarat State Election Commission had already begun preparations to hold elections for 15 municipal corporations and other local bodies by end of April 2026. The petition argues polls should not proceed until the reservation inconsistencies are addressed. A stay order from the Supreme Court tomorrow could push the elections back indefinitely.
In PESA-designated areas, the OBC reservation has been kept at 10%. All eyes across political parties and social organisations are now on the Supreme Court, whose ruling could redraw the electoral arithmetic of the entire state.
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