1 WP6514/11 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE, BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 6514 OF 2011 Shamrao Gulabrao Salve Petitioner V E R S U S The State of Maharashtra and others Respondents Shri Ajit S. Zarekar, Advocate for the petitioner Shri K.M. Suryawanshi, AGP for respondent Nos. 1, 3 & 4 CORAM : A.V. NIRGUDE, J. DATED : 2nd September, 2011 ORDER ORDER : 1. Heard. 2. The petitioner got elected as member of Gram Panchayat on 23rd August, 2010. Respondent No. 5 challenged the election of the petitioner by filing an Election Petition under Section 15 of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958, on the ground that the petitioner made a false statement about the number of children he had. He thereby suggested that the petitioner had incurred disqualification as provided under Section 14 (1) (j-1) of the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1958 even prior to the election, because he had more than two children on the day of filing of the nomination. During the pendency of this election petition, respondent No. 5 also moved an application under Section 16 of the Act for declaring the petitioner as disqualified. The authorities under the Act on facts concurrently held that the petitioner had more than two children, and therefore, he had incurred a disqualification etc. As against such concurrent findings, the present writ petition has been filed. 2 WP6514/11 3. The only ground raised by the petitioner’s Advocate is that the petitioner’s election cannot be challenged by way of filing application under Section 16 of the Act. He said, there are two reasons why such an application is not maintainable; first reason, according to him, is the pendency of the election petition, and the second reason, according to him, is provisions of Article 243–O of the Constitution of India. It reads as under : “243-O. Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters. - Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, - (a) the validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies, made or purporting to be made under Article 243-K, shall not be called in question in any court; (b) no election to any Panchayat shall be called in question except by an election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as is provided for by or under any law made by the Legislature of a State. The submission cannot be accepted, because by making an application under Section 16 of the Act, respondent No. 5 did not challenge the election of the petitioner. Section 16 of the Act provides a mechanism for making declaration in respect of disqualification of a member of Gram Panchayat. It has no reference to Section 15 of the Act which provides procedure for examining validity of elections etc. Sections 15 and 16 of the Act thus are not related to each other and are mutually exclusive. In view of this, writ petition should fail. Writ Petition stands dismissed. ( A.V. NIRGUDE, J. ) SRM/wp/6514/11/2/9/11 3 WP6514/11