The order was passed after Ulhasnagar mayor Ashwini Nikam and two disqualified Shiv Sena corporators moved the Supreme Court
Ulhasnagar: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) to complete the appointment process for seven nominated corporators by Sept 28, granting the civic body a three-day extension from the Sept 25 deadline earlier set by the Bombay High Court, reports. The Supreme Court allowed limited additional time and, since Sept 27 falls on a Sunday, fixed Sept 28 as the deadline to complete the process. The order was passed after Ulhasnagar mayor Ashwini Nikam and two disqualified Shiv Sena corporators moved the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court’s order and seeking to defer the process until the petitions challenging the corporators’ disqualification are decided. The contention was opposed by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and advocate Monish Bhatia, appearing for BJP UMC group leader Rajesh Vadhrya. The mayor’s counsel sought a one-week postponement, citing the ongoing Ganpati festival. The BJP opposed the request, arguing that the nomination process had already been completed. During the hearing, the mayor’s counsel also requested the Supreme Court to delete certain observations made by the High Court against the mayor. The Supreme Court accepted the request and directed that the observations be removed.
During the hearing, counsel for the two disqualified corporators argued that holding the nominated corporator appointment process before the High Court decides their disqualification petitions would prejudice their rights. The court also directed that the petitions challenging the disqualification of the two corporators should continue before the regular bench of the Bombay High Court.
The dispute arose after two Shiv Sena corporators were disqualified, reducing the party’s claimed share of nominated corporator posts from four to three.
Before the nomination process began, the two corporators informed the mayor that they had challenged their disqualification in the High Court and requested that the process be kept on hold until their pleas were decided.