Hold civic polls, no extra time for ‘triple test’, SC tells MP

NEW DELHI: Holding that the constitutional mandate of holding elections before expiry of the five-year tenure of local bodies is inviolable, the SC directed initiation of the poll process for the 23,263 local bodies in Madhya Pradesh which has been due since 2019 and rejected the state government’s plea for more time to fulfill the ‘triple test’ criteria to introduce OBC reservation in local self-governed bodies and also to complete the delimitation process.
A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Abhay S Oka and C T Ravikumar said that the election process could not be delayed to grant OBC reservation and directed the MP election commission to issue notification within two weeks. “As and when the formalities of the triple test are completed, that can be reckoned for future elections. But, elections which are already due can;t be delayed on that count in view of the constitutional mandate,” it said.