New Delhi, Jan. 13 -- The Supreme Court on Monday pushed the January 31 deadline for holding local body polls in Maharashtra by another two weeks to enable the State Election Commission (SEC) to conclude polls for 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis. The order was passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, which had set the January 31 deadline by an order passed on September 16, 2025 to ensure effective working of grassroot level democratic institutions. The elections were held up owing to a 2021 judgment of the top court laying down a "triple test" for rolling out reservation for other backward classes (OBC) in these local self-government institutions. This test required the state to conduct a scientific study to assess population of OBCs, determine quantum of reservation in each local body area and ensure the cumulative reservation of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs does not exceed 50%. The SEC, in its latest application, informed the court that following this order, the election program for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats is complete. For 29 municipal corporations, the polls will take place on January 15. However, it was with regard to zilla parishads and panchayat samitis, the SEC sought time citing availability of EVMs that will be available only after the conclusion of the elections to the corporations. The bench, also comprising justice Joymalya Bagchi, said, "Two weeks more is granted to the SEC to complete the election process." Senior advocate Balbir Singh appearing for SEC said, "We have complied with a significant part of what was directed by this court." He referred to the November 28 order which directed elections to be held regardless of the challenge to the triple test compliance....