SAGRAMBHAI BHAYABHAI BHARWAD Vs. MUKESHKUMAR INDULAL CHAUHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Mr. Harin Raval waives service of Rule on respondent Nos. 1 and 2. Mrs. Harsha Devani, learned A.G.P., waives service of Rule on respondent Nos. 3 and 4. On the request of the learned Counsels for the parties, this matter is taken up for final hearing today. This Special Application under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed, seeking appropriate writ of directions for quashing and setting aside the election of respondent No. 1 - Mukeshkumar Indulal Chauhan as the President of Dhrangadhra Municipality.

(2.) The facts in short are that the petitioner and the respondent No. 1 were elected as Councillors of Dhrangadhra Municipality in the election held in December 1994. A meeting was convened on January 8, 1996 to hold the election for the office of the President of Dhrangadhra Municipality. As per the Roster point provided under the Gujarat Municipalities (Reservations of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Class and Women) Rules, 1994, hereinafter referred to as the Reservation Act, 1994, the second term was reserved for Backward Class. Only two persons, i.e., petitioner and the respondent No. 1 who belong to Backward Class filed the nomination. The petitioner raised the objection that the respondent No. 1 has not filed the Certificate of Caste to show that he is a person belonging to Backward Class and further, the fact that he has been elected from the General Constitutency. The respondent No. 1 promptly at 5-20 p.m. submitted the Caste Certificate. In view of this, the objection was overruled by the Returning Officer.

(3.) In this Special Civil Application, Mr. Yogesh Ravani has mainly raised the following two contentions : (1) That the Returning Officer wrongly overruled the objections of the petitioner as the respondent No. 1 did not submit the certificate before the scheduled time as required under Rules (6) and (8) of the Gujarat Municipalities (President and Vice-President) Election Rules, 1964; and (2) That the respondent No. 1 has been elected from the constituency of the general class and as such, he is not qualified to hold the post of President, reserved in favour of the backward class.