New Delhi, Oct 6 (NationPress) The Supreme Court declined to accept a writ petition on Monday that challenged the Telangana government order granting 42 percent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in rural local bodies within the state.

A bench led by Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta chose not to hear the case, citing that it is already under consideration by the Telangana High Court. The petition was dismissed, filed by Vanga Gopal Reddy.

Attorneys Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Siddharth Dave, and A.D.N. Rao, representing the state government, informed the bench about two existing petitions in the High Court.

The bench inquired why the petitioner chose to submit the case under Article 32.

Upon the petitioner’s claim that the High Court had not issued a stay, the bench questioned how he could escalate the matter to the Supreme Court without the High Court’s stay.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who attended the hearing alongside Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Vakiti Srihari, expressed satisfaction with the apex court's decision.

Speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court, he reiterated the state government's dedication to implementing the 42 percent reservation for BCs in education, employment, and local governance.

He emphasized that the government is prepared to uphold the BC reservation during local body elections.

"With local body elections approaching, the state government has enacted a Bill and issued a government order (GO). We are committed to this and will advocate for it," he stated.

Earlier, the Deputy Chief Minister and state Ministers consulted with Manu Singhvi, who also serves as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Telangana, along with Dave.

Government attorney Shravan Kumar and Anil Jaihind, Chairman of the Congress BC Cell, were also present.

The Deputy Chief Minister and Ministers communicated to the lawyers that the government issued the GO for 42 percent reservations for BCs in local bodies in adherence to the Supreme Court's guidelines.

They clarified that the GO was established following a caste survey, collection of empirical data on BCs, the appointment of a dedicated BC Commission, and an expert group’s review of the caste survey findings.

The State Election Commission recently announced the schedule for elections to rural local bodies, which will occur in five phases from October to November this year.