Judgment

P.K. Balasubramanyan, J.—The appellant was born a Maharashtrian Barhmin. She married one Naresh Kumar Thakur who is a Namdev by caste. In the election to the Municipal Corporation of Gwalior, the appellant filed her nomination for election for the post of a Corporator for Ward No. 50, a ward reserved for backward communities. The appellant was declared elected. The defeated candidate - the respondent herein challenged the election of the appellant in an Election Petition. The District Judge held that the nomination paper of the appellant was wrongly accepted and that her election was liable to be set aside since she could not contest the seat reserved for backward communities. The appellant filed a revision before the High Court. The High Court after consideration of the relevant aspects confirmed the decision of the District Court. The court overruled the contention of the appellant that the Circular dated 12.3.1997 issued by the Government of Madhya Pradesh was restricted to employment or admission alone and did not apply to elections to local bodies. The High Court also noticed the decisions of this Court in Valsamma Paul vs. Cochin University and others (1996(3) SCC 54