SAJJAN NARAYANRAO SALUNKE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD. Application for intervention is allowed. Rule made returnable forthwith. By consent of parties, taken up for final hearing.

(2.) THE elections of the Municipal Council, Tuljapur were held in december, 2001 and the petitioner came to be elected as Councilor from a seat reserved for O. B. C. A crime came to be registered against the petitioner at Police Station Tuljapur bearing No. 16/2002 on 18. 2. 2002 for the offence punishable under s. 307 of the Indian Penal Code. After registration of the crime on 18. 2. 2002, the petitioner came to be arrested on 22nd February, 2002. From 22. 2. 2002 till 24. 2. 2002, the petitioner was in police custody and from 24. 2. 2002 to 10. 10. 2002 the petitioner was detained in magisterial custody. The petitioner came to be released on bail on 10. 10. 2002. As the petitioner was in jail from 24. 2. 2002 to 10. 10. 2002, he could not and he did not attend any meeting of the Municipal Council. It is the case of the petitioner that because of the fact that he was in jail, no notice was sent to him by the Municipal Council intimating the date of the meetings and he did not receive any notice. The petitioner claims that he learnt that there is a meeting to be held on 4. 7. 2002 and as such, well in time, he had moved the Judicial Magistrate First Class seeking permission to attend the meeting and claimed his release on that ground. The said application was rejected on 17. 2. 2002 by the Judicial Magistrate and as a result thereof, the petitioner could not attend the meeting. The relevant fact is that the petitioner came to be arrested on 22. 2. 2002 and till his release on bail on 10. 10. 2002, he did not attend any meeting of the Council. As a result of the said absence of the petitioner from attending the meeting, a show cause notice came to be issued by the Collector to the petitioner purportedly under s. 44 (l) (d) of the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagur Panchayats and industrial Townships Act, 1965. S. 44 (l) (d) reads thus :-

(3.) AFTER receipt of the show cause notice, the petitioner submitted his explanation/reply to the show cause notice dated 8. 10. 2002 on 24. 10. 2002. Not being satisfied with the explanation, the Collector proceeded to pass the impugned order on 23. 5. 2003 disqualifying the petitioner from being the member of the Council in exercise of powers under s. 44 ( l) (d) of the Act.