Supreme Court clears way for local body elections in Andhra Pradesh

The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for local body elections in Andhra Pradesh, ruling that the polls should not be delayed due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The court clarified that the elections could be conducted using the existing electoral rolls if the revised SIR rolls were not published before the election notification was issued.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued the clarification while hearing a plea filed by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) challenging an October 1 order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

The High Court had directed the State Election Commission (SEC) and the state government to expedite the process of conducting elections to rural and urban local bodies, preferably within six weeks.

According to a LiveLaw report, the Supreme Court noted that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had proposed to publish the final SIR electoral rolls on October 16, 2026, while the SEC had yet to issue the election notification.

The bench clarified that the revised electoral rolls would be used if the SIR exercise was completed before the election notification was issued. Otherwise, the polls would be conducted using the existing electoral rolls in accordance with the applicable state laws.

In a separate matter, the Supreme Court dismissed the Andhra Pradesh government's plea seeking 34 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections.

The state government had challenged an Andhra Pradesh High Court decision quashing two government orders that provided for 34 per cent reservation for BCs. The High Court had ruled that the quota would breach the 50 per cent ceiling on total reservations.

The dismissal of the state's plea leaves the challenge to the proposed 34 per cent BC quota unsuccessful at the Supreme Court.