MUMBAI: Amid the political turmoil engulfing Shiv Sena (UBT) following six Lok Sabha MPs who are likely to join Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the party suffered another setback on Wednesday after Bhandup corporator Deepak Sawant was disqualified from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for submitting an invalid Other Backward Class (OBC) caste certificate.
Municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide issued an order on Wednesday disqualifying Sawant, the elected corporator from Ward 111. However, under Section 16(1C)(a) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, an elected representative stands disqualified from the date on which the caste validity certificate is invalidated by the Caste Scrutiny Committee. In Sawant’s case, the Ratnagiri Caste Scrutiny Committee had passed its order on June 15, with the commissioner’s order merely formalising the statutory disqualification.
Leader of opposition in the BMC, Kishori Pednekar, said she had learnt that a court had granted a stay on the committee’s order, but added that she had not been able to confirm the development with Sawant. Calls and text messages sent to the corporator by HT went unanswered.
The issue came to light after Sarika Pawar, who had finished second in the Ward 111 election, sought documents pertaining to Sawant’s caste certificate under the Right to Information Act and challenged its validity before the Small Causes Court. The matter was subsequently referred to the Caste Scrutiny Committee, which held the certificate to be invalid, paving the way for Sawant’s disqualification.
{{/usCountry}}The issue came to light after Sarika Pawar, who had finished second in the Ward 111 election, sought documents pertaining to Sawant’s caste certificate under the Right to Information Act and challenged its validity before the Small Causes Court. The matter was subsequently referred to the Caste Scrutiny Committee, which held the certificate to be invalid, paving the way for Sawant’s disqualification.
{{/usCountry}}This is the second instance of a BMC corporator losing office during the current civic body’s tenure over an invalid caste certificate. On May 25, an AIMIM corporator from Ward 137 was similarly disqualified. Civic officials said another corporator could face a similar fate in the coming week following an adverse ruling by the caste scrutiny authorities.
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