The main legal point established in the judgment is the strict application of Rule 36(15) in the context of the election process, specifically regarding the timeline for filing applications for inclusion in the final Voters' List and the rights of newly elected members to cast their votes.

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith by the consent of the parties and heard finally.

2. All the petitioners in these petitions are the Gram Panchayats, who are represented by their Sarpanch / Member. These petitioners have put forth their grievance on behalf of the elected members of the gram panchayats.

3. The respondents in each of these petitions are Statutory Authorities. The Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Aurad, (Shahajani) is respondent No.5, who has not caused an appearance despite service.

4. Since an identical issue is involved in all these cases, this Court (Coram : Sunil P.Deshmukh, J.) had considered these petitions and had passed a common interim order dated 04/08/2015. It is in these circumstances that all these petitions have been heard finally together by the consent of the parties.

5. The undisputed facts in these cases are as under :

[a] Respondent No.5 APMC is situated at Aurad Shahajani and all the petitioners gram panchayats fall within the jurisdiction of the said APMC.

[b] The term of the gram panchayats was to end in July, 2015.

[c] Elections to the members of the gram panchayat for the new terms were held on 23/04/2015 and the results of the elections were declared on 24/04/2015.

[d] The term of the newly elected members commences from the date they take charge in the gram panchayats, u/s 28 of The Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act.

[e] All the newly elected members of the petitioner/gram panchayats, represented by their Sarpanch / Members in these petitions are aggrieved parties.

[f] The newly elected members of the petitioners / gram panchayats have authorized their representatives by passing a Resolution to espouse their cause and put forth their grievance before the Election Officer and before this Court.

[g] On 22/05/2015, the final Voter’s List was declared for the respondent No.5 APMC.

[h] None of the newly elected members of the petitioners / Gram Panchayats had taken charge as on 22/05/2015.

[i] On 22/06/2015, the election programme for respondent No.5 APMC was declared.

[j] 06/07/2015 was the last date for filing of the nomination papers for contesting the elections of respondent No.5 APMC.

[k] In between 22/07/2015 and 28/07/2015, all the elected members of the petitioners / Gram Panchayats assumed charge.

[j] On 01/08/2015, the representatives of the newly elected members as well as the Gram Panchayats filed objections / complaints before respondent No.3 District Deputy Registrar Co.operative Societies, Latur (in short, DDR) under Rule 36(15) of the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Rules 1967 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules of 1967), for seeking inclusion of their names in the final list of voters.

[k] By the impugned order dated 01/08/2015, the DDR declined to entertain the said complaint and accordingly rejected the complaints.

[l] This Court, by its order dated 01/08/2015 had granted interim relief in similar cases in WP No.7950/2015.

[m] This Court, therefore, by its order dated 04/08/2015, granted interim relief to all these petitioners by virtue of which they were permitted to cast their votes in a separate ballot box on the date of polling 09/08/2015.

[n] Accordingly, the earlier members whose names appeared in the final voters’ list and the petitioners / members have cast their votes in two separate ballot boxes and the results were not declared under the orders of this Court.

[o] The contentions of the petitioners is that the earlier members of the petitioners / Gram Panchayats have lost their right to vote since their term ended on 23/04/2015.

[p] Though the newly elected members have taken charge in between 22/07/2015 and 28/07/2015 and since the elections were scheduled on 09/08/2015, they had a legal right to vote in the elections.

[q] By interim orders of this Court, the votes cast by the outgoing members of the petitioners / Gram Panchyats deserve to be discarded and the results deserve to be declared on the basis of the votes cast