SC slams Maharashtra State Election Commission over delay in local body polls, sets final deadline for January 2026

SC slams Maharashtra State Election Commission over delay in local body polls, sets final deadline for January 2026

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rebuked Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) for failing to comply with its earlier directions on conducting local body elections.

The Court granted a one-time extension, directing that elections to all local bodies in Maharashtra must be completed by January 31, 2026, with no further extensions to be permitted.

A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the SEC had failed to act promptly on the Court's May 6 order, which required elections to be held within four months.

The apex court also said that the delimitation process must be completed by October 31, 2025 and it should not be cited as a reason to delay elections.

Any request for logistical assistance must be filed before October 31, 2025. No applications will be entertained beyond this date.

Additionally, the SEC is directed to submit staff requirement details to the Chief Secretary within two weeks. The Chief Secretary must deploy staff within four weeks, in consultation with other departments.

Regarding the shortage of EVMs, the SEC must make arrangements and file a compliance affidavit by November 30, 2025.

The SEC had cited multiple logistical challenges including, ongoing delimitation for municipalities, shortage of EVMs, non-availability of school premises due to board exams, staff shortages.

The Court rejected these grounds, noting that exams scheduled for March 2026 do not justify deferring elections, and called the SEC’s inaction a failure to comply with constitutional obligations.

Meanwhile, the Court was informed that multiple petitions concerning delimitation and ward reservations were pending before different benches of the Bombay High Court. It allowed the State and SEC to request the clubbing of all related petitions before a single bench and requested the Chief Justice of the High Court to sympathetically consider such a plea.

The Supreme Court had earlier passed interim orders in May 2024, directing the Maharashtra government to conduct local body elections, which had been stalled since 2022 due to legal disputes over OBC reservation implementation. The Court ruled that the elections should proceed using the pre-2022 OBC reservation framework, i.e., before the Banthia Commission report was submitted.