VISHWAS LAXMAN BHAGAT Vs. DEVENDRA GANA BHAGAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Letters Patent Appeal is preferred by the Original Petitioner, being aggrieved by the Judgment and Order dated 31st July 2012, passed by learned Single Judge of this Court in Writ Petition No.5606 of 2012. By the impugned Judgment and Order, learned Single Judge has confirmed the Judgment and Order dated 21st June 2012 passed by the Additional Divisional Commissioner, Konkan Division, Mumbai in Appeal bearing No.Appeal/Desk/VP/28/2012, thereby confirming the Judgment and Order dated 16th January 2012 passed by the District Collector, Raigad in Dispute Application No.41 of 2010. By these orders, the election of the Appellant as a Member and Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat, Usurli-Khurd is held as invalid on the count that he has incurred disqualification under Section 14(1)(j-1) of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act (Act No.III of 1959), (for short "the Act), since he is having more than two children.

(2.) The facts, which are relevant and material, for deciding this Appeal may be stated as follows :-

(3.) Appellant resisted the Dispute Application by filing a detailed reply dated 28th February 2011, contending, inter alia, that he had only two daughters, namely, Pranjal and Vishwati. It was his case that the third child Shreya was not his daughter and he is not concerned with her Birth Certificate. To substantiate his contention, Appellant has relied upon the Birth Certificate of Shreya, as produced by Respondent Nos.1 to 4, in which the name of Shreya's father was shown as 'Vishwas Gajanan Patil' and mother's name as "Sandhya Vishwas Patil', residents of Usarli, Taluka Panvel. As against this, the name of the Appellant is 'Vishwas Laxman Bhagat' and his wife is 'Deepmala Vishwas Bhagat', both of them being the residents of Usurli-Khurd, Taluka Panvel. Thus, according to the Appellant, in view of the difference in surname, father's name and mother's name, as also the name of the village, where they are shown to be residents, he was not concerned with the third child Shreya and hence, there was no question of his incurring any disqualification as such.