Maharashtra
Bombay HC dismisses petitions challenging delimitation of BMC wards back to 227 from 236
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed petitions filed by former corporators challenging the Maharashtra government’s ordinance reversing the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s decision to go ahead with the delimitation of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wards.
The order was passed by a division bench of Justices SB Shukre and MW Chandwani while hearing petitions filed by two former councillors – Raju Pednekar and Sameer Desai.
“We find no substance in both the petitions. Both the petitions stand dismissed,” said the bench while dismissing the petitions.
In 2021, the MVA initiated the delimitation process and increased the number of electoral wards from 227 to 236. However, on August 8, the present government reduced the number of wards to 227. On September 8, the ordinance was replaced by the Act.
Pednekar, a former corporator belonging to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), had approached the HC after the Supreme Court granted him the liberty to withdraw his plea and move the Bombay High Court regarding the issue.
He sought quashing the government’s decision stating that it was against the Constitution. Pending the hearing of his plea, he sought a stay on the decision. Further he prayed that the State Election Commission (SEC) conduct the BMC elections based on delimitation conducted earlier, as per the Supreme Court’s orders on May 4 and July 20.
His plea had contended that in February 2022, the HC had dismissed pleas against the delimitation initiated by the MVA government increasing the BMC wards to 236. It was after this, that the SEC published a final notification in the official gazette.
The government has contended that the plea has been filed with “ulterior motives”. An affidavit filed by Priyanka Chhapwale, Deputy Secretary of the Urban Development Department, contended that there was a miniscule increase in population from 2001 to 2021 census and hence wards were not increased for the elections which took place in 2012 and 2017.
The 2001 census showed Mumbai’s population as 1,19,78,450 which increased to 1,24,42,373 in 2011 which is an increase of only 3.87%. “It is a well settled principle of law that the right to contest an election does not have the status of fundamental rights. Instead the said right is a mere creature of a statute,” it said.
Stating that the law as it stood prior to Nov 30, 2021 (with 227 seats) was valid and constitutional, the government has sought that Pednekar’s plea be dismissed which has been filed with “malafide” intentions and due to “political influence”.
The State Election Commission’s (SEC) Deputy Commissioner Avinash Sanas had filed an affidavit stating that when the seats were increased by the government from 227 to 236, the SEC had to scrap the work already done by it with regard to the pre-election process and restart it. It said the previous MVA government then amended the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act by which powers of the SEC for delimitation were withdrawn and the power was entrusted with the state.
Maharashtra
Delhi HC to pronounce today verdict on anticipatory bail plea of ex-IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar
New Delhi, Dec 23: The Delhi High Court is slated to deliver on Monday its judgment on anticipatory bail plea of sacked Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who allegedly submitted false OBC and PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) certificates and fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limits provided for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) by faking her identity.
As per the causelist published on the website of the Delhi HC, a bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh will pronounce its verdict on December 23.
Earlier on November 28, Justice Singh-led Bench reserved its decision after hearing both sides. It was then clarified that till the judgment is delivered, the interim relief granted earlier to Puja Khedkar shielding her from arrest will continue.
Asking Khedkar to cooperate with the investigation, the Delhi High Court, in an interim order passed on August 12, granted her protection from arrest.
Earlier, a court here had turned down her anticipatory bail plea and asked the investigating agency to find out if anyone from inside the UPSC had helped Khedkar.
Widening the scope of the probe, Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala had asked Delhi Police to investigate if other people recommended by the UPSC have availed quota benefits without entitlement.
The Centre, on September 7, sacked Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, a month after the UPSC cancelled her selection in government service. Khedkar has been found guilty of faking and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits.
After cancelling her selection, the UPSC also barred her for life from taking the entrance exam after finding her guilty of faking her identity to take the exam multiple times.
In a status report submitted to the Delhi High Court, Delhi Police had contended that former Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Khedkar had submitted two separate disability certificates for her UPSC exam. The disability certificates dated 2018 and 2021 citing ‘multiple disabilities’ were purportedly issued by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital for her UPSC attempts made in 2022 and 2023.
However, as per Delhi Police’s status report, the hospital authorities had denied that the certificates claiming ‘multiple disabilities’ were issued to her by them. It was found that Khedkar availed relaxed criteria for OBC candidates and persons with disabilities.
It then came to light that her father, a former Maharashtra government officer, had property to the tune of Rs 40 crore and that she did not qualify for the non-creamy layer OBC quota.
The UPSC had said that its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) “could not detect her number of attempts primarily because she changed not only her name but also her parents’ names”.
The Delhi High Court also issued notice to Khedkar on an application filed by the UPSC alleging that she committed perjury by swearing a false affidavit and making a false statement in relation to her anticipatory bail plea.
In its application, the UPSC disputed that it did not collect any biometrics (eyes and fingerprints) during Khedkar’s personality test and she made a “false statement” regarding the collection of her biometrics for obtaining favourable orders.
disaster
Dumper mows down 9 sleeping on pavement in Pune, two toddlers among three killed
Pune (Maharashtra), Dec 23: In a horrific incident, two toddlers and a man were crushed to death when a speeding dumper mowed nine pavement dwellers here on Monday.
The police said the incident happened around 1 a.m. at Wagholi near the Kesnand Phata when a dumper of a private company from Pune veered onto the footpath and ran over the people, all labourers sleeping in shanties there.
At least three persons, including two minors and another man, were killed instantly while six others were seriously injured in the mishap.
According to preliminary information, the dumper driver was allegedly in an inebriated state and lost control of the heavy vehicle, said to be owned by Buildwell Enterprises, while going from Pune to Wagholi.
The victims are identified as: One-year-old Vaibhavi Ritesh Pawar, her two-year-old brother Vaibhav Ritest Pawar, and a man named Rinesh N. Pawar, 30. They were all sleeping beside each other when the tragedy hit them.
The condition of the six others injured has been described as critical. They have been admitted to the Sassoon Hospital.
According to locals, around a dozen workers had arrived here from Amravati on Sunday to work as labourers in different construction sites in the region.
Local police and officials have launched a probe into the exact causes of the disaster as initial reports suggest that the driver was purportedly in a drunken state, said locals who rushed there to help the victims.
The accident site was an eerie scene with bodies of the victims and injured, blood splattered all around, and the bare belongings, clothes or utensils of the labourers strewn in the vicinity, resembling a war zone.
Later, the police arranged to move the dumper, completed the relevant formalities and cleared the footpath, said the locals, as people vented their angst on social media.
Maharashtra
Guardian Minister: Now the battle for the post of guardian minister in Mahayuti, BJP-NCP’s internal game to weaken Shinde
Mumbai: The drama of distribution of posts in the three-party ‘Khichdi Sarkar’ of Mahayuti is not ending. First there was a phase of placating the people holding lucrative ministries, then there was the drama of respect and displeasure about who should be included or not in the cabinet and now the tug-of-war has begun over who will be the guardian minister of the districts, i.e. the minister in charge. As long as Eknath Shinde was in the Chief Minister’s chair, he was in power, but as soon as he was promoted from Chief Minister to Deputy Chief Minister, the game of sidelining him on the platform of power has started.
BJP and NCP are trying to fit
their own guardian minister in the districts under Shinde’s influence. Anyway, Shinde’s bargaining power has reduced with the inclusion of Ajit Pawar in the khichdi government. These days the tuning between Shinde and Fadnavis is so good that the Shinde faction is feeling isolated. Shinde’s problem is that even his own MLAs are giving more importance to Fadnavis than him.
BJP stakes claim on the post of guardian minister of Thane district.
However, there are 11 such districts in the state in which there is a cutthroat competition these days among the three parties of the khichdi government for the post of guardian minister. BJP has staked claim on the post of guardian minister of Thane district, where Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has the most influence. BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar says that in Thane district Shinde’s Shiv Sena has 6 MLAs and BJP has 9 MLAs. BJP wants to make its minister Ganesh Naik the guardian minister of Thane. There is an age-old competition between Eknath Shinde and Ganesh Naik to establish dominance in Thane district. Both of them are basically old Shiv Sainiks of Balasaheb Thackeray.
Uneasiness grows in Shinde’s Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena has always held the post of Guardian Minister of Thane district. This time too Shinde is trying his best to keep it in his possession. But ever since Naik’s name is in discussion, uneasiness has grown in Shinde’s Shiv Sena. If BJP’s Ganesh Naik snatches the post of Guardian Minister from Shiv Sena, then history will be made. The Guardian Minister has the authority to allot development funds. In the coming time, Municipal Corporation elections are going to be held. The post of Guardian Minister is important from that perspective too.
NCP’s Ajit faction wants to capture Raigad
Not only Thane, but also Thane’s neighbouring district Raigad, the NCP’s Ajit faction wants to capture it. The 11 districts where big politics is going on for the post of guardian minister include Thane, Pune, Raigad, Nashik, Beed, Satara, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, are facing a tough situation because one district has two ministers and another has four ministers in the cabinet. In such a situation, there is tough competition for the post of guardian minister, sometimes between two ministers of the same party and sometimes between ministers of alliance parties.
Where and who is the competition between
Thane- Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena), Ganesh Naik (BJP)Raigad- Aditi Tatkare (NCP), Bharat Gogavale (Shiv Sena)Nashik- Girish Mahajan (BJP) Dada Bhuse (Shiv Sena) Narahari Jhirwal (NCP), Manikrao Kokate (NCP)Jalgaon- Gulabrao Patil (Shiv Sena), Sanjay Savkare (BJP)Pune- Ajit Pawar (NCP), Chandrakant Patil (BJP)Beed- Pankaja Munde (BJP), Dhananjay Munde (NCP)Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar- Sanjay Shirsat (Shiv Sena), Atul Save (BJP)Yavatmal- Ashok Uike (BJP) Sanjay Rathod (Shiv Sena), Indranil Naik (NCP)Satara- Shambhuraj Desai (Shiv Sena) Shivendraraje Bhosale (BJP), Jaykumar Gore (BJP), Makarand Patil (NCP)Ratnagiri- Uday Samant (Shiv Sena) Yogesh Kadam (Shiv Sena)Kolhapur- Hasan Mushrif (NCP), Prakash Abitkar (Shiv Sena)
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