RATNABAI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ELECTIONS to the Village Panchayat, Sidhanath Wadgaon took place sometime in the year 1995 and a meeting of the newly elected Village Panchayat members was called on 3-9-1995 for electing Sarpanch and Upa-Sarpanch of the said Village Panchayat under Rule 2 (a) of The Bombay Village Panchayats (Sarpanch and Upa-Sarpanch) Election Rules, 1964. Office of the Sarpanch of village Sidhanath Wadgaon was reserved for women (general ). Petitioner filed a nomination paper for the post of Sarpanch of this village panchayat but her nomination paper came to be rejected by the Returning Officer since there was no signature of the proposer on the said nomination form. This fact is not in dispute. Since there was no nomination form filed by any other candidate, the post of the Sarpanch was kept vacant and the meeting proceeded for election of Upasarpanch -Shri Ransingh Sandusingh Bilwad was elected for the post of Upasarpanch. This petition challenges rejection of the nomination paper of the petitioner.

(2.) LEARNED Counsel for the petitioner Shri N. J. Pahune Patil contended that since the petitioner was the only women elected from the general seat, she alone was competent to be Sarpanch of Village Panchayat. In support of this proposition, Shri Patil relied on the judgment of the Supreme Court in (Saraswati Devi v. Smt. Shanti Devi and others) A. I. R. 1997 S. C. 347. Shri Patil contends that though there were 3 women members in the Village Panchayat, others were elected from the reserved seat and, therefore, they were not entitled to contest and occupy seat of the Sarpanch which was reserved for women - general category. By an application for intervention, two other lady members of the Village Panchayat namely; Mathurabai Jagannath Lingayat and Smt. Sonabai w/o. Gangadhar Bhalerao have appeared before us. We have allowed their intervention and heard their Counsel, Shri K. S. Bhore.

(3.) LEARNED Counsel contends that the post is not reserved for the women who belong to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or other backward classes but is a seat reserved for women - general. By a wrong interpretation though Mathurabai - Intervenor No. 1 wanted to file her nomination paper, she was not allowed to do so by the Returning Officer holding that a woman belonging to any reserved category cannot contest general seat reserved only for women.