Caste documents: 3 Mumbai councillors may lose seats

The court held that Kesharben Patel, Murji Patel and rajpati yadav had failed to submit valid proofs certifying their caste status

The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday rejected the petitions of three city councillors — representing reserved constituencies — whose election had been invalidated as they did not produce caste-validity certificates within a year of getting elected in 2017.

In the 181-page order, the bench held that Kesharben Patel and Murji Patel had failed to submit valid proofs of their belonging to the Leva Patidar community (which falls under OBC) and hence stand to lose their seats. (HT Photo)

Certificates produced by two other councillors have been given to a committee for further scrutiny.

The division bench of justice Ranjit More and justice Bharati Dangre had been hearing writ petitions filed by five councillors — Kesharben Patel, Murji Patel, Rajpati Yadav, Sudha Singh and Tulip Miranda — whose election to their seats was questioned by the caste-scrutiny committee based on the findings of the vigilance cell.

In the 181-page order, the bench held that Kesharben Patel and Murji Patel had failed to submit valid proofs of their belonging to the Leva Patidar community (which falls under OBC) and hence stand to lose their seats.

The bench also held Yadav’s proof — a cattle-shed licence — unsatisfactory, as it could not solely prove that he belonged to the Yadav caste (OBC) and rejected his petition.

The bench also said Miranda, who claimed to be East Indian (which falls under OBC), deserves to have her petition heard, in light of her community’s rich cultural traits and background besides her claim having been substantiated by a parish priest.