Automatic Disqualification of Councillor on Invalidation of Caste Certificate
Automatic Disqualification of Municipal Councillor On Invalidation of Caste Certificate
Election Law – Reserved Seat of Councillor – Retrospective Termination of Election on Invalidation of Caste Certificate
Appeal does not suspend the Disqualification of Councillor on Invalidation of caste Certificate
The Councillor elected from reserved eat incurs automatic disqualification under Section 16(1C)(a) of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act. The office is deemed to have been vacated from the date of invalidation.
Section 10(4) of the Maharashtra Caste Certificate Act 2000 as amended in 2026 provides an overriding clause that where a person contests election on the reserved seat and that the caste certificate is cancelled. The election of such person shall be deemed to have been terminated retrospectively.
The petitioner was elected from Ward No.191 for OBC (Woman) in 2026 BMC Elections. On 20.8.2026 the caste claim of the petitioner was invalidated by the Scrutiny Committee. As a consequence, the Municipal Commissioner passed the order of disqualification of the petitioner under Section 16(1C)(b) of the Municipal Corporations Act.
Municipal Commissioner invoking the provisions of Section 16(1C)(a) & (b) of the MMC Act, which inter alia provides for “Disqualifications for being a Councillor”. Sub-section (1) thereof provides that “a person shall be disqualified for being elected and for being a councilor if such person inter alia has been so disqualified by or under any law, for the time being in force for the purpose of elections to the Legislature of the State; and secondly, he shall also be so disqualified under any law made by the Legislature of the State of Maharashtra. The provision which is specifically invoked is the provision of sub-section (1C)(a) & (b) of Section 16, which provides that a Councillor who has been elected to a reserved seat, who stands disqualified, consequent upon the concerned Scrutiny Committee constituted under the provisions of Section 6 of the 2000 Act declaring the Caste Certificate of such Councillor to be invalid and cancelling the same, on the ground of the same having been based on a false claim or declaration made by such person, claiming to belong to the reserved category, and thereupon, the Councillor “shall be deemed to have”, vacated his office on and from the date of declaration of such Certificate to be invalid and being cancelled by the Scrutiny Committee or by the competent authority
If there are provisions which are invoked by the Municipal Commissioner merely because there is a provision for an appeal under Section 6B of the 2000 Act (supra), for that matter sub-section 5 being incorporated in Section 10 Page 22 of 32 2 September 2026 P. V. Rane Uploaded on – 02/09/2026 Downloaded on – 03/09/2026 14:47:00 905.DOC (supra), there is no gainsaying that sub-section (1C) (a)(b) of Section 16 would cease to operate and/or the deeming effect which is provided for under sub section (1C)(a) of Section 16 would stand deferred in view of the provisions of clause (a) and (b) of sub-section (5) of Section 10 of the 2000 Act. This is what is sought to be contended on behalf of the petitioner, that the provision of Section 16 (1C) of the MMC Act cannot be invoked in the teeth of what has been provided for in clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (5) of Section 10. Such contentions, on a plain reading of the aforesaid provision and for the reasons as discussed herein above, are misconceived, hence, unacceptable. The legislature in providing for an amendment of the 2000 Act, by incorporating sub-section (5) in Section 10, certainly was conscious of the consequences of the two fold situations; firstly, sub-section (4) of Section 10 providing for a deeming effect, of bringing about a disqualification in the manner as provided, namely, that election of such person, whose caste certificate has been invalidated, shall be deemed to have terminated retrospectively; and secondly, sub-section (4) of Section 10 was a provision having an overriding effect on any law for the time being in force. The legislature was also not oblivious to the specific provisions of Section 16(1C) (a) and (b) of the MMC Act, which contemplated a similar effect providing for disqualification of an elected councilor in the event the caste certificate is invalidated by the Scrutiny Committee. No amendment was made to the MMC Act to dilute and/or to take away the effect of what has been provided for in Section 16(1C) (a) and (b).
Judgment dated 2.9.2026 of the High Court of Bombay in Writ Petition No.11625 of 2026 of Vishakha Sharad Raut alias Vishakha Moreshwar Raut Vs. The State of Maharashtra and others
