Bombay High Court dismisses plea challenging Lok Sabha election of Congress MP Shivaji Kalge

The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed an election petition challenging the victory of Shivaji Bandappa Kalge, the Indian National Congress candidate elected from Maharashtra's Latur constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. .The petition filed by Narsingrao Udgirkar of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi alleged that Kalge did not belong to the "Mala Jangam" Scheduled Caste (SC) as claimed in his nomination papers and hence, he was ineligible to contest from the seat reserved for SCs.Single-judge Justice Arun R Pednekar dismissed the petition on the ground that it failed to meet the necessary legal requirements and was "bereft of material particulars" essential for substantiating the claims.Additionally, a parallel petition filed by other candidates and a voter, alleging similar issues with Kalge’s caste credentials and claiming fraudulent acquisition of his caste certificates, was also dismissed..He emphasized that the Caste Scrutiny Committee, which is responsible for validating caste certificates, holds exclusive authority to determine caste status and the validity of the same will not be examined in an election petition except on the grounds of fraud or that it was not issued by a competent authority. “The law on the subject of rejection of election petition at the outset has been reiterated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Karim Uddin Barbhuiya Vs. Animul Haque Laskar & Ors. reported as (2024) 4 S.C.R. 523,” and he clarified that “the Caste Scrutiny Committee has exclusive jurisdiction to decide the caste status of an individual as regards the caste or tribe claim, this Court in the election petition would not render alternate finding as regards the caste of the returned candidate unless case is made out that the judgment of the Caste Scrutiny Committee, granting validity to the caste certificate of the returned candidate is not issued by the competent authority or is vitiated by fraud,” the judgment said..Udgirkar had challenged Kalge’s election on the grounds that Kalgedid not actually belong to the “Mala Jangam” caste but was a member of the Hindu Jangam caste which is classified as Other Backward Class (OBC).Udgirkar argued that Kalge’s caste certificate and related documents were improperly accepted, rendering him ineligible for the reserved seat. He claimed that the caste certificate issued by the executive magistrate lacked proper verification by the vigilance committee and that the documents supporting Kalge’s claim were either faulty or fraudulent..In support of his allegations, Udgirkar presented various documents, including school records with discrepancies in caste entries, evidence suggesting Kalge’s relatives were listed as Hindu Jangam, and historical records showing inconsistencies in caste documentation for Kalge’s family..The Court reviewed the evidence and determined that the petitions lacked the necessary details. “The material produced in the election petition, even if accepted as it is cannot lead to the conclusion that the returned candidate does not belong to ‘Mala Jangam’, a Scheduled caste as the caste validity certificate is granted to him after following the due process of law by the Caste Scrutiny Committee,” the judge said. The Court found that the petitions did not provide sufficient information to challenge the validity of the caste certificate.The Court also said that the petitioners' reliance on incomplete documents was insufficient. “The documents produced by the petitioners even if accepted as they are, no findings can be rendered that the returned candidate does not belong to caste “Mala Jangam” and negate the caste validity certificate granted to returned candidate by the Caste Scrutiny Committee.”.Regarding the claim of fraudulent documents, the Court held that mere usage of words like ‘fraudulent’ and ‘fake’ documents and production of some documents which would indicate that the returned candidate does not belong to ‘Mala Jangam’ caste, is not sufficient. "Even an erronous decision of the Caste Scrutiny Committee, granting validity to the caste certificate cannot be challenged in election petition," the Court held while dismissing the petition..Advocates Jayshree Patil and Uttam Laxmanrao Telgaonkar appeared for the petitioner..[Read Judgment]