High Court seeks state response on reservations for 187 Karnataka municipalities

The Karnataka High Court issued a notice to the Siddaramaiah government over delays in finalising reservation notifications for 187 municipalities. The SEC has sought urgent directions as similar delays persist for Gram Panchayat reservations expiring in January 2026

Bengaluru: The Divisional bench headed by the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Siddarmaiah government in connection with the issuance of the final notification of reservation of seats in 187 Municipalities.

The bench headed by the Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Poonacha passed the order, while looking into the petition filed by the State Election Commission (SEC) seeking a direction to the state government to issue a notification under Section 13 (1) (d) of the Karnataka Municipalities Act. The matter has been adjourned to December 11.

---

The bench has also directed that the respondent must file a formal reply in the form of a counter-affidavit addressing and disputing the statements made in the petition before the next hearing date.

The State Election Commission, in its petition, has requested the court to direct the State government to immediately issue the final reservation notifications for the posts of president and vice president in all 187 urban local bodies and also pleaded to ensure issuing of the final reservation notifications for the wards, as required under Section 42(2-a) of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964.

It can be recalled that the Divisional bench headed by Chief Justice Vibhu Bhakru and Justice CM Poonacha issued notice on November 12 to the state government and directed it to finalise reservations, concerning the 5,950 Gram Panchayats (GPs) whose terms will expire by January 2026.

The bench issued the notice while looking into the petition of the State Election Commission (SEC).

The SEC sought immediate direction and action from the state government with regard to issuing a final nomination for the reservation of seats under Section 5 (5) of the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act, 1993.

The court had also asked the state government to take the matter seriously and file objections in two weeks. Niloufer Akbar, the counsel representing the government, had submitted to the court that the petition was about the office that will become vacant in January 2026. Since the vacancy was for the future, the counsel asked the court for one week to consult the government and get further instructions on how to proceed.