HC stays order that barred corporators

Mumbai: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court has stayed an order issued by the minister of state for urban development disqualifying two municipal corporators for dumping garbage on the chair of the council president for not doing anything with regards to solid waste management in Beed district. The court said that as the objections of the corporators needed a detailed hearing by the court, the minister's order would be stayed till the regular court took up the matter.

A bench of justice Mangesh Patil was hearing a civil application in a writ petition filed by ten municipal councillors of Beed district against a disqualification order by minister Ranjit Patil. The petition prayed for a stay on the minister’s order on the grounds that they were not given a chance to have their say which is against natural justice.

 The minister's order was based on a report by the district collector wherein it was submitted that in 2017 the councillors had forced the peon to open the chamber of the president of the municipal council and had dumped garbage on his chair as a symbolic protest. The collector's report had held that the conduct of the councillors was disgraceful and had violated various sections of the Maharashtra   Municipal   Council,   Nagar   Panchayats   and   Industrial Townships Act, 1965 and hence should be disqualified.

The bench said that the councillors deserved to have a chance to be heard and hence stayed the order.