The Times of India 12.03.2013
HC holds drawing of lots in NMC standing panel polls legal
NAGPUR: Rejecting plea of two corporators, Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court has ruled that lottery system for electing Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) standing committee members was not arbitrary.
"The draw of lots as per Section 20(4) of Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, 2012, gives equal opportunity to all and discretion is conferred upon the chairman to work out finer details. The details need to maintain transparency in the process. In facts before us, that intention is not defeated. In this situation, we find no substance in challenge warranting interference," a division bench comprising Justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Prasanna Varale held.
Petitioners Alka Dalal from Bastarwari prabhag and Raju Lokhande from Imambada-Rambag prabhag had challenged the elections held in February for electing eight members on its standing panel. The new members replaced those elected earlier including the petitioners.
NMC had adopted a lottery system for the first to elect eight members for retirement by rotation after it was brought under new law. The petitioners claimed they had earlier raised objection to the lottery system that had proved grossly prejudicial to women. They sought quashing the result and continuing Sujata Kombade, Saroj Bahadure, Harshala Jaiswal, Aslam Khan, Prafulla Gudadhe and Ravindra Dolas as members of the committee.
The judges observed that as the standing committee consisted of total 16 members and it was decided that eight would retire, hence eight chits carried word 'retire'. "It was known in advance that the persons lifting those chits would stand retired. This mode of determining the retiring member has been prescribed by the legislature as it was first year after coming into force of Section 20," they said.
The court stated that in subsequent years, the standing committee members with longest tenure would retire. "Thus, this was the only instance when the draw of lots was required. In this situation, preparation of 16 chits and giving equal opportunity to each member to draw the same cannot be said to be either arbitrary or perverse. Unanimous decision requiring male members to draw the chit first also cannot introduce any arbitrariness and is not sufficient to vitiate the 'draw'," the court ruled while rejecting the petition.
"The draw of lots as per Section 20(4) of Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, 2012, gives equal opportunity to all and discretion is conferred upon the chairman to work out finer details. The details need to maintain transparency in the process. In facts before us, that intention is not defeated. In this situation, we find no substance in challenge warranting interference," a division bench comprising Justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Prasanna Varale held.
Petitioners Alka Dalal from Bastarwari prabhag and Raju Lokhande from Imambada-Rambag prabhag had challenged the elections held in February for electing eight members on its standing panel. The new members replaced those elected earlier including the petitioners.
NMC had adopted a lottery system for the first to elect eight members for retirement by rotation after it was brought under new law. The petitioners claimed they had earlier raised objection to the lottery system that had proved grossly prejudicial to women. They sought quashing the result and continuing Sujata Kombade, Saroj Bahadure, Harshala Jaiswal, Aslam Khan, Prafulla Gudadhe and Ravindra Dolas as members of the committee.
The judges observed that as the standing committee consisted of total 16 members and it was decided that eight would retire, hence eight chits carried word 'retire'. "It was known in advance that the persons lifting those chits would stand retired. This mode of determining the retiring member has been prescribed by the legislature as it was first year after coming into force of Section 20," they said.
The court stated that in subsequent years, the standing committee members with longest tenure would retire. "Thus, this was the only instance when the draw of lots was required. In this situation, preparation of 16 chits and giving equal opportunity to each member to draw the same cannot be said to be either arbitrary or perverse. Unanimous decision requiring male members to draw the chit first also cannot introduce any arbitrariness and is not sufficient to vitiate the 'draw'," the court ruled while rejecting the petition.
