PRAKASH KAKUBHAI RANGWALA Vs. NANDIAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner has filed the present Public Interest Litigation under Article 226 of the Constitution of India with the following prayers :

(2.) The necessary facts may be noticed at the very outset to appreciate the worth of the prayers made by the Petitioner who appears in person in the present Petition. The State Election Commission had declared Municipal General Elections, 2007, to be held on 1st February 2007. According to the Schedule, Ward No.114 was declared as a reserved seat for O.B.C. women category in the Municipal elections. As per Schedule, the election was held, the result of which was declared on 2nd February 2007 and Smt. Rashmi Ramesh Pahudkar was declared as elected from the said Ward. The correctness of the caste certificate submitted by her was challenged before the Caste Verification Committee, which was invalidated by the order dated 12th April 2007 of the Competent Authority.

(3.) As is evident from the above narrated facts, the present Petition filed under the garb of Public Interest Litigation in fact is intended to serve a personal cause in favour of Smt.Rashmi Ramesh Pahudkar. The prayers made in the present Petition are also contrary to law as the Small Causes Court, Bombay, while exercising its powers as an Election Court cannot be restrained in law from exercising a jurisdiction lawfully vested in it. The present Petition in fact is an abuse of process of law and does not satisfy the basic essentials spelt out under various judicial dictum as a Public Interest Litigation. The Petitioner, in fact, has attempted to overreach the normal process of law contemplated under the special Statute relating to elections to the Municipal Corporation and has filed this Petition with an attempt to obstruct the normal course of law.