Supreme Court Extends January 31 Deadline For Completion Of Maharashtra Local Body Elections By Two Weeks

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joyamalya Bagchi extended the time after the State Election Commission (SEC), represented by Senior Advocate Balbir Singh, submitted that it has filed an interlocutory application seeking an extension of time by 10 days from January 31.

Singh said the court had earlier fixed the January 31 deadline, but around 10 more days are needed as elections are to be held for some zila parishads and panchayats.

The bench extended the time by two weeks for completing the electoral process of the local body polls, after directing the registry to number the application of the SEC.

Hearing another plea alleging that the quota limit in the Maharashtra local body polls has crossed the 50-per cent mark, the court said it has already clarified that the election will be held but it will be subject to the outcome of the petitions.

"If 50 per cent of lakshman rekha has been crossed, like in this case where it is 52 per cent, then the election will be held but it will be subject to the outcome of these petitions," the bench told Senior Advocate V Giri.

It refused to entertain any fresh intervention application in the matter, saying those are only intended at delaying the election process and that all such petitions will be listed after the local body polls.

The Apex Court pulled up the Maharashtra SEC on September 16 last year for the non-compliance of its order. It had directed earlier that the local body polls in the state, stalled since 2022, to be completed by January 31, 2026, without further extension.

The bench was irked over the SEC's failure to comply with its order, mandating a timely conclusion of the local body polls.

"Elections of all local bodies, including zila parishads, panchayat samitis and all municipalities, shall be conducted by January 31, 2026. No further extension shall be granted to the state and the State Election Commission. In case any other logistic assistance required, application can be filed promptly before October 31, 2025. No prayer will be entertained thereafter," the court had said.

It had passed the order on a batch of petitions concerning the long-pending civic body elections in Maharashtra.

In May last year, the court issued an interim order directing the conclusion of the polls within four months, that is, by September 2025.

Opposing the extension, the petitioners had argued that the SEC had failed to notify the elections within the stipulated two weeks and was redoing the entire process, citing excuses ranging from festivals to staff shortages.

In its order, the bench had recorded that the polls were stalled since 2022, primarily due to disputes over the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation in local bodies.

With PTI Inputs