JUDGMENT :

Nitin Jamdar, J.

The question this larger Bench is called upon to answer is whether a councillor who has contested the elections of a Municipal Council as an independent candidate and has formed/become part of an Aghadi registered pursuant to the second Proviso to Section 63(2B) of the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965 is governed by Section 3 of the Maharashtra Local Authority Members’ Disqualification Act, 1986 for all purposes for all meetings as a member of such Aghadi till the term of the Council, or such an Aghadi is for a restricted purpose such as only for subject committees. Reference is made by the single judge of this Court doubting the correctness of the decision of the Full Bench of this Court in the case of Shah Faruq Shabir and Ors. vs. Govindrao Ramu Vasave and Ors., (2016) 5 Mh.L.J. 436, holding that the Aghadi registered under second Proviso to Section 63(2B) is for a restrictive purpose. Thus, the crux of the matter is whether the Aghadi under Section 63(2B) is intended for specific or all-encompassing purposes. The resolution of this dispute hinges on the interpretation of the above statutory provision.

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