In Hyderabad, Justice T Madhavi Devi from the Telangana High Court addressed a case on Thursday involving the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act. A writ was filed by a non-tribal welfare society, questioning the reservation of all local election seats for Scheduled Tribes (STs) in certain areas. The case was brought forward by Kondabathina Madhu, the secretary of the society from Ramnagar, Chunchupally mandal, Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
The petitioner’s lawyer argued that reserving 100% of the seats for STs is problematic. In some regions, there are no ST candidates available for the role of “sarpanch.” This situation forces the government to appoint special officers instead of having elected leaders.
The lawyer requested that the government allow non-tribal individuals to run for these positions to maintain democratic governance. They also asked the court to halt the election process for sarpanch roles in areas where all seats are reserved for STs until this issue is resolved.
