Court lifts ban on Navi Mum corporator Bharat Bhoir in two-child norm case

The Civil Court (Senior Division) on Monday lifted its March 25 order after Bhoir filed a detailed reply backed by documents, including birth records. The court said the earlier ex-parte restraint could not continue without examining the material now placed on record

Navi Mumbai: A Belapur court has cleared the way for corporator Bharat Bhoir to return to office, setting aside an earlier ad-interim order that had barred him from functioning over alleged violation of the two-child norm.

Court lifts ban on Navi Mum corporator Bharat Bhoir in two-child norm case

The Civil Court (Senior Division) on Monday lifted its March 25 order after Bhoir filed a detailed reply backed by documents, including birth records. The court said the earlier ex-parte restraint could not continue without examining the material now placed on record.

Bhoir had been restrained from acting or taking decisions as corporator of Ward 14D after Shiv Sena corporator Savita Lagade moved an election petition seeking his disqualification under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, 1949.

The dispute hinges on whether Bhoir’s third child was born after the statutory cut-off date of September 12, 2001. While Lagade has cited records claiming the birth took place on February 17, 2002, Bhoir insists his son Ankit was born on May 10, 2001.

Detailing his family to counter the allegation, Bhoir said his daughter Asmita is a graduate and his son Rohit is a doctor, asserting that his family details are well documented. He termed the allegations as “bogus,” “fabricated” and politically motivated.

“They cannot defeat me politically, so they are trying to defame me through such cases,” Bhoir claimed. He further challenged his rivals to contest him electorally rather than pursue legal remedies. “If they want to defeat me, they should come and contest against me in Ward 14 instead of filing such petitions,” he said. He added that he would produce all documents before the court at the next hearing.

The court had earlier, at a prima facie stage, questioned the authenticity of documents relied upon by Bhoir calling them as “fabricated and misleading,” and ordered preservation of birth records. That order has now been set aside following his response.

The case will be heard next on April 8, when both sides are expected to submit original records.

Bhoir, who won from Ward 14D, Navi Mumbai, as an independent and later backed the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), can now resume his duties as corporator pending final adjudication, the court said.