"Bombay High Court Clarifies: Two-Child Limit for Panchayat Membership Includes Previous Marriage Offspring, Excludes Step-Children
In a recent ruling, the Bombay High Court has provided clarity on the applicability of the two-child limit specified in Section 14 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayat Act for individuals aspiring to become panchayat members. The court's decision indicates that the aforementioned limit encompasses biological children from a previous marriage but does not extend to step-children within an existing marriage. The legal case of Khairunisa Sheikh Chand v. Chandrashekhar Daulatrao Chincholkar & Ors prompted this important interpretation.
Section 14 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayat Act outlines various criteria leading to the disqualification of potential panchayat members, which encompasses having more than two children.
A division bench consisting of Justices AS Chandurkar and Vrushali Joshi clarified that the term "two children," as used in this context, solely pertains to children for whose birth the member holds responsibility. This determination is independent of whether the children were born from a preceding or current marital union.
The court's order highlighted, "It becomes clear that the expression ‘person’ is required to be applied in the context of a male member who is responsible or who has fathered more than two children and in the context of a female member who has given birth to children more than two. These children could be from the same wedlock or any earlier wedlock of either spouse."
The case involved a gram panchayat member who faced disqualification due to having more than three children. Notably, two out of the three children were step-children, born to her husband prior to their marriage.
Challenging the disqualification order issued by the Divisional Commissioner of Nagpur, the matter was brought before the High Court.
Initially, a single-judge of the Court referred the case to a division bench to determine whether the term "children," as stipulated in Section 14, encompasses step-children.
The division bench expressed the view that the intent behind Section 14 was to disqualify a gram panchayat member responsible for or having given birth to more than two children, regardless of whether these children were born from a current or past marriage.
"The provision's purpose is not to discourage the remarriage of an individual with more than two children from a previous marriage," clarified the bench.
Having made these observations, the case was sent back to the single-judge to make a decision based on the case's merits.
Advocate Sukrut Sohonia represented the gram panchayat member in the proceedings.
Assistant Government Pleader Sangita Jachak appeared on behalf of the State government."
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TAGS: Keywords: Bombay High Court two-child limit Panchayat membership Maharashtra Village Panchayat Act eligibility criteria disqualification step-children biological children previous marriage current marriage legal interpretation division bench Justices AS Chandurkar Vrushali Joshi Khairunisa Sheikh Chand v. Chandrashekhar Daulatrao Chincholkar & Ors Section 14 gram panchayat member Divisional Commissioner of Nagpur remarriage single-judge Advocate Sukrut Sohonia Assistant Government Pleader Sangita Jachak legal case ruling clarification.
