LI Network
Published on: February 8, 2024 at 12:28 IST
The Supreme Court has ruled that elected Panchayat members in Maharashtra, representing seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) or Other Backward Classes (OBC), will face automatic disqualification if they fail to provide the Validity Certificate for their Caste Certificate within 12 months of the election date.
This decision is in accordance with Section 10-1A of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act 1959.
As per the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000, candidates contesting from reserved seats must obtain a Caste Certificate from the competent authority. This certificate is subject to verification and the granting of the Validity Certificate by the Scrutiny Committee.
Section 10-1A of the Panchayats Act mandates that candidates contesting from reserved seats must submit the Validity Certificate from the Scrutiny Committee along with their nomination papers.
If the candidate does not possess the certificate at the time of nomination, they are given a 12-month window from the date of election to produce it. Failure to do so results in retroactive termination of their election and disqualification from membership.
This provision was deemed mandatory by the Bombay High Court in Anant H. Ulahalkar & Anr. Vs. Chief Election Commissioner & Ors (2017), a judgment upheld by the Supreme Court in Shankar S/o Raghunath Devre (Patil) Vs. State of Maharashtra & Others (2019).
In a recent case, the appellant, who contested the Gram Panchayat elections in Village Jambulan as a reserved member, failed to produce the Validity Certificate within the stipulated timeframe.
Consequently, his membership was disqualified. Although the appellant sought protection under the Maharashtra Temporary Extension of Period for Submitting Validity Certificate Act, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against him as he failed to notify the election result to the Scrutiny Committee within the specified time.
The Court emphasized the importance of due diligence in the submission of applications for validity certificates and noted that the appellant had not fulfilled all requirements within his control.
Therefore, the Court concluded that the appellant’s disqualification was justified, and the election for the post of village Sarpanch would be notified afresh.
Case Title: SUDHIR VIKAS KALEL vs. BAPU RAJARAM KALEL., Diary No.- 41796 – 2023