Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Alka Ganpat Misal, was elected as a member of the Gram Panchayat from Ward No.2, which was reserved for Women (Open category), on 06.08.2015. Subsequently, she was elected as Sarpanch of the same Panchayat, which was reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category. The Additional Collector, Ahmednagar, by order dated 15.09.2016, allowed a disqualification application under Section 101A of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, setting aside her membership with retrospective effect for failing to submit a tribe validity certificate within six months of the election results. The petitioner challenged this order before the Bombay High Court. The court examined the issue of whether a member elected from an unreserved ward could be disqualified under Section 101A for not producing a caste validity certificate. The court noted that the petitioner had contested from an Open category ward, not from any reserved category. The requirement under Section 101A to submit a caste validity certificate within six months applies only to candidates elected from reserved categories. The court held that the petitioner's subsequent election as Sarpanch from a Scheduled Tribe reserved seat did not alter her original membership status. The disqualification proceedings were therefore wrongly initiated. The court quashed the impugned order and allowed the writ petition, restoring the petitioner's membership with all consequential benefits.
Headnote
A) Panchayat Law - Disqualification - Section 101A Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act - Disqualification for failure to submit caste validity certificate applies only to candidates elected from reserved categories - The petitioner was elected from an Open (Women) ward, not from a reserved category. Her subsequent election as Sarpanch from a Scheduled Tribe reserved seat does not attract disqualification under Section 101A for her membership. The impugned order setting aside her membership with retrospective effect was quashed. (Paras 2-10) B) Panchayat Law - Reservation - Caste Validity Certificate - Requirement of submitting caste validity certificate within six months under Section 101A is mandatory only for candidates who contested from a reserved category - The petitioner contested from an Open ward, hence no such requirement. The Additional Collector erred in applying the provision to her. (Paras 5-9)
Issue of Consideration
Whether a member of Gram Panchayat elected from an unreserved (Open) ward can be disqualified under Section 101A of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act for failing to submit a tribe validity certificate within six months, when she later became Sarpanch from a Scheduled Tribe reserved seat.
Final Decision
The writ petition is allowed. The impugned order dated 15.09.2016 passed by the Additional Collector, Ahmednagar is quashed and set aside. The petitioner's membership as a member of Gram Panchayat is restored with all consequential benefits. Rule is made absolute in those terms.
Law Points
- Disqualification under Section 101A of Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act applies only to candidates elected from reserved categories
- not to those elected from open category
- Disqualification cannot be imposed retrospectively for failure to submit tribe validity certificate when the candidate did not contest from a reserved seat
