The main legal point established in the judgment is that the period of four months for production of caste validity certificate is merely a procedural requirement and cannot supplant the constitutional mandate of reservation.

D.G. Karnik, J.

1. In all these writ petitions, the petitioners have challenged the constitutional validity of section 5-B of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 (for short "MMC Act"), section 5-B of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949 (for short "BPMC Act"), section 9-A of the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965 (for short "Municipalities Act"), section 12-A of the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis act, 1961 (for short "Zilla Parishads act") and section 10-A in the Bombay Village Panchayats Act, 1950 (for short "the Village Panchayats Act"). In the alternative, counsel for the petitioners submitted that the time limit of four months prescribed for production of a caste/tribe validity certificate by the second proviso to each of the aforesaid sections should be held to be directory.

2. Since all the petitions raise common questions of law and challenge the constitutional validity on the same grounds and also put forward the same interpretation to the second proviso which are identical in each of the abovementioned sections of the Acts, we are passing this common order.

3. Article 243-D of the Constitution of India provides that seats shall be reserved for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in every panchayat. The number of seats so reserved are required to bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in that panchayat as the proportion of scheduled castes in that panchayat area or of the scheduled tribes in that panchayat area bears to the total population of that area. Article 243-T of the Constitution of India provides that seats shall be reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in every municipality (which under Article 243-Q shall include a Nagar Panchayat, a Municipal Council and a Municipal Corporation). The number of seats so reserved are required to bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in that municipality as the population of the scheduled castes in that municipal area or of the scheduled tribes in that municipal area bears to the total population of that area. In order to fulfil the constitutional mandate contained in Articles 243-D and 243-T of the Constitution of India, the Legislature of State of Maharashtra has made provisions for reservation of seats for persons belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes of citizens in municipalities, village panchayats and zilla parishads.

4. In order to ensure that the benefits of reservation of seats in the municipalities, village panchayats and zilla parishads conferred on the persons belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes (hereinafter collectively referred to as "the backward classes") are not taken away and/or grabbed by ineligible persons not belonging to the backward classes but who falsely claim to so belong, the Legislature introduced section 5-B in the MMC Act, section 5-B in the BPMC Act, section 9-AA in the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, 1948 and section 9-A in the Municipalities Act by enacting Maharashtra Municipal Corporations and Municipal Councillors (Amendment) Act, 2006 (Maharashtra Act No.XXXV of 2006). Similarly, the Legislature also introduced section 10(IA) in the Village Panchayats Act and section 12-A in the Zilla Parishads Act by enacting Bombay Village Panchayats and Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis (Amendment) Act, 2006 (Maharashtra Act No.XXXVII of 2006). Section 5-B of the MMC Act, section 5-B of the BPMC Act and section 9-A of the Municipalities Act are identically worded and initially did not contain any proviso thereto. Section 10-IA of the Village Panchayats Act and section 12-A of the Zilla Parishads Act are also identically worded with section 5-B of the MMC Act and section 5-B of the BPMC Act save and except tha