MUMBAI: Bombay HC on Monday rejected a petition by corporators Abhijit Samant and Rajashree Shirwadkar challenging the constitutional validity of increasing the number of electoral wards by nine, to 236 from 227, ahead of BMC polls.
Last week, the HC had concluded the hearing. Senior counsel Virendra Tulzapurkar and Nikhil Sakhardande, for the petitioners, had submitted that the challenge was to the November 30 ordinance amending Section 5 of the MMC Act by which number of corporators has been “arbitrarily” increased to 236. The number of corporators is based on the 2011 census, but the change in population from 2001 to 2011 was already acted upon before the 2017 BMC election, stated the plea.
Advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, in his submissions before a bench of Justices Amjad Sayed and Abhay Ahuja, had said the state was justified as given a 3.87% increase in the population from 2001 to 2011, it was a duty to increase the number of corporators proportionately.
