MAHARASHTRA LOCAL AUTHORITY MEMBERS' DISQUALIFICATION ACT, 1986

Act No. 20 of 1987

20th July, 1987

An Act to provide for disqualification of members of certain local authorities on ground of defection and for matters incidental and connected therewith. WHEREAS, it is expedient to provide for disqualification of members of certain local authorities on the ground of defection and for matters incidental and connected therewith; It is hereby enacted in the Thirty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows :-

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S.1 Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Local Authority Members' Disqualification Act, 1986.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

NOTES

Objects and Reasons :- With a view to eradicating the evil of political defection in the Parliament on the national level and in the State Legislatures on the State Level, the Parliament has amended the Constitution of India by the Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment) Act, 1985. At the level of district, taluka, city and town, different local authorities are charged with the administration of functions relating to Local Government. These local authorities are, in the main, elective. Many of our ablest statesmen and legislators have received their earliest training in the sphere of Local Government. The local authorities may become the pioneers in various field of political activity. This evil of political defections is also present in the lo

S.2 Definitions

In this Act unless the context otherwise requires, -

• (a) "aghadi" or "front" means a group of persons who have formed themselves into party for the purpose of setting up candidates for election to a local authority;
• (b) "Collector" means the Collector of a district;
• (c) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of a revenue division appointed under section 6 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (Mah. XLI of 1966);
• (d) "councillor" means a councillor of a Municipal Corporation, or a Municipal Council, or a Zilla Parishad;
• (e) "local authority" means, -
  • (i) a Municipal Corporation,
  • (ii) a Municipal Council,
  • (iii) a Zilla Parishad, or
  • (iv) a Parnchayat Samiti;
• (f) "member" means a member of a Panchayat Samiti;
• (g) "Municipal Corporation" means a Municipal Corporation constituted under a relevant municipal law;
• (h) "Municipal Council" means a Municip
  

S.3 Disqualification on ground of defection

(1) Subject to the provisions of 1[section 5], a councillor or a member belonging to any political party or aghadi or front shall be disqualified for being a councillor or a member -

• (a) if he has voluntarily given up his membership of such political party or aghadi or front; or
• (b) if he votes or abstains from voting in any meeting of a Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council, Zilla Parishad or, as the case may be, Panchayat Samiti contrary to any direction issued by the political party or aghadi or front to which he belongs or by any person or authority authorised by any of them in this behalf, without obtaining, in either case, the prior permission of such political party or aghadi or front, person or authority and such voting or abstention has not been condoned by such political party or aghadi or front, person or authority within fifteen days from the date of such voting or abstention :

Provided that, such voting or abstention wi

S.3A Disqualification for appointment on remunerative political post

1[A councillor or, as the case may be, a member belonging to any political party, aghadi or front who is disqualified for being a councillor or, as the case may be, a member under section 3 shall also be disqualified to hold any remunerative political post of duration of the period commencing from the date of his disqualification till the date on which the term of his office as such councillor or, as the case may be, a member expires or till the date which he contests an elections to a local authority and is declared elected, whichever is earlier.

Explanation ;- For the purpose of this section, the expression "remunerable political post" means any office,-

• (i) under the State Government where the salary or remuneration for such office is paid out of the public re venue of the State Government or Consolidated Fund of the State; or
• (ii) under a body, whether incorporation or not, which is wholly or partially owned by the State Government and th
  

S.4 Disqualification on ground of defection not to apply in case of split

1[ * * *].

NOTES

Disqualification by split.- In this case 28 out of a group of 30 Shiv Sena Members in Zilla Parishad forming a separate group and accorded recognition by Collector as a separate party. It was contended that to save disqualification, split members should be more than one-third of split group at National level. It was held by the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court that it will be absurd that split referred in Act at National level and not that of the group at Zilla Parishad level. Groups are formed at State level and even if a split of a party takes place at National level it may not disqualify members of a group at State/Zilla Parishad level as per local law. Words "as a result of split in his original political party" will have to be given a workable meaning. It was further held by the High Court that these members have decided to support Nationalist Congress party in Zilla Parishad, so they had been disqualified as per the report in n

S.5 Disqualification on ground of defection not to apply in case of merger

(1) A councillor or a member shall not be disqualified under sub-section (1) of section 3 where his original political party or aghadi or front merges with another political party or aghadi or front and he claims that he and any other members of his original political party or aghadi or front-

• (a) have become members of such other political party, or aghadi or front or as the case may be, of a new political party formed by such merger; or
• (b) have not accepted the merger and opted to function as a separate group, and from the time of such merger, such other political party or new political party or aghadi or front or group, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the political party or aghadi or front to which he belongs for the purposes of sub-section (1) of section 3 and to be original political party or aghadi or front for the purpose of this sub-section.

(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), the merger of the original political party or

S.6 Councillor or member to vacate office or not to hold office after [* * *] merger

Councillor or member to vacate office or not to hold office after 1[* * *] merger

A councillor, or as the case may be, member claiming 2[merger referred to in section 5] shall-

• (a) if holding any office other than such councillor or member under any relevant municipal law, or as the case may be, the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961 shall be deemed to vacate such office on the date of such 3[* * *] merger and shall, on and from that date, cease to hold such office;
• 4[(b) * * *.]

NOTES

Statement of Objects and Reasons.- The Government of Maharashtra has, on the lines of the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1985, enacted the Maharashtra Local Authority Members' Disqualification Act, 1986 (Mah. XX of 1987), with a view to prevent political defection in the local authorities in the State and the same is in force in the State.

As provided by section 6

S.7 Decision on question as to disqualification on ground of defection

If any question arises as to whether, -

• (a) a councillor of a Municipal Corporation;
• (b) a councillor of a Municipal Council; or
• (c) a councillor of a Zilla Parishad; or
• (d) a member of a Panchayat Samiti,

has become subject to disqualification under this Act, the question shall be referred -

• (i) in the case of a councillor of a Municipal Corporation, to the Commissioner, and
• (ii) in the case of any other councillor or member, to the Collector;

and the decision of the Commissioner, or as the case may be, Collector shall be final.

NOTES

Decision : Reference :- In the case of a Councillor (Nagarsewak) of a Municipal Corporation, it must be referred to the Commissioner of Division (Divisional Commissioner) Revenue Department. His decision will be final. In the case of Municipal Councillor, Zilla Parishad Councillor and Panchayat Samiti member, reference must be made to the Collector

S.8 Bar of jurisdiction of Civil Courts, etc.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any relevant municipal law, or the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965, or the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961, no Civil Court and no other authority or officer shall have any jurisdiction to deal with or decide any question as to disqualification of a councillor or a member on the ground of defection or as to any matter connected therewith, which the Commissioner or the Collector is empowered to deal with and decide under section 7; and no injunction shall be granted by any Civil Court or any authority or officer in respect of any action taken or to be taken by the Commissioner or Collector in pursuance of any power conferred on him by or under this Act.

S.9 Rules

(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely :-

• (a) the maintenance of registers or other records as to the political parties, aghadi or fronts, if any, to which different councillors, or as the case may be, members belong;
• (b) the report which the leader of a municipal party or a Zilla Parishad party, in relation to a councillor and the leader of a Panchayat Samiti party in relation to a member shall furnish with regard to any condonation of the nature referred to in clause (b) of subsection (1) of section 3 in respect of such councillor, or as the case may be, member, the time within which and the authority to whom such report shall be furnished;
• (c) the reports which a political party or aghadi or front shall fur
  

S.10 Act to have overriding effect, but shall be in addition to existing local authority laws

(1) The provisions of this Act and the rules shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), the provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and shall not, save as expressly provided hereinbefore, be in derogation of the provisions of any law relating to Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council or other local authority concerned.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section nothing in this Act shall apply when a Government servant is nominated as a councillor of a Municipal Council for a municipal area specified in Part II or Part III of Schedule I to the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965, or to any person who holds the office as a member of a Panchayat Samiti by virtue of his being a Government servant and appointed as Administrator of a co-operative society.

S.11 Amendment of certain enactments

The enactments specified in the second column of the Schedule are hereby amended in the manner and to the extent specified in the third column thereof.