New Delhi, Nov. 18 -- The Supreme Court on Monday observed that the total reservation in the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra cannot exceed 50%, and warned to stay the polls if the quota limits are breached. "For the moment, do not allow reservation to extend beyond 50%. We will not allow the elections if they go against our Constitution bench decision. The decision of the Constitution bench (in the Indira Sawhney case from 1992) is clear - reservation cannot exceed 50% with regard to Other Backward Classes (OBC)." a bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said. The court scoffed at the state government for "misconstruing" its earlier orders and posted the matter for Wednesday. Filing of nominations for polls to zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and municipalities in Maharashtra will begin from Tuesday. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, said Maharashtra had relied on the Banthia commission report submitted in July 2022, which recommended 27% reservation for OBCs in local bodies. He said that in any case, the outcome of the polls would be subject to the court's order. "It seems either our order has been misconstrued or somebody has taken advantage of our order," the court said, referring to its orders dated May 6 and September 16 which gave a "one-time concession" to the state election commission to complete the local body polls by January 31, 2026 as per the law prevailing in the state prior to submission of the Banthia commission report in 2022. "Your data is based on the Banthia Commission. That report is yet to be examined by us. We were clear about holding the elections. But how could reservations exceed 50%? We did not say 27% to OBCs across the board. We meant 27% wherever it is fitting into the 50% threshold to the extent it reaches 50%," the bench said. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for a petitioner who alleged the upcoming polls were being held in violation of the court's earlier orders, said that the total reservation exceeded 50% in nearly 40% of the seats across the local bodies. This amounted to contempt of the court's earlier order, he claimed. Mehta, however, told the bench that the petitioner had approached the court just a day prior to the start of the polling process, and it was a deliberate attempt to defeat the court's order to ensure that the polls are completed by January 31. "There is a law on 50% reservation which cannot be breached. Please don't implement beyond 50%. If you say that the election process has started, do not question our powers. We will recall our order and stay the election," the bench said, while posting the matter for Wednesday. The court further directed that the ongoing delimitation exercise must be concluded by October 31 and warned that it cannot be cited as a ground to postpone elections. It dismissed other reasons cited by the state election commission to postpone the polls, such as non-availability of electronic voting machines, lack of school premises during board exams, and shortage of staff...