Indian Express 10.06.2010
Caste documents invalid, corporator disqualified
Express News Service Tags : fake document, Malan Bhintade, corporator Posted: Thu Jun 10 2010, 00:01 hrs
Pune: The caste verification committee has disqualified Malan Bhintade, an Independent corporator of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), after finding that the documents she had submitted with her nomination were invalid.Bhintade had contested the February 2007 civic elections from the Rajiv Gandhi Zoo ward (number 142) in Katraj area as an OBC candidate. Digambar Davari, her rival from the BJP, had alleged that she had submitted fake caste certificates while she actually belonged to the Maratha community.
Davari had raised the allegation before the PMC, but the election officer directed him to the Social Welfare Department. Bhintade subsequently won the election.
Davari later produced various documents, including caste and school certificates, claiming that Bhintade actually belonged to the Maratha caste and hence was in the open category. These documents were submitted to the caste verification committee. A writ petition was also filed in the Bombay High Court thereafter. In March 2007, the committee held the corporator’s OBC certificate invalid. Following this, Bhintade approached the High Court. The court again directed both the cases to the caste verification committee, which once again held her certificate invalid. After a number of hearing and petitions, the matter came up before the committee and on March 23 this year, it gave its verdict holding Bhintade’s candidature invalid.
Nandkishor Gosavi, who followed up the matter in the High Court and with the committee along with Davari, said, “This case will dissuade people from filing fake certificates for elections.”
