No FIR against 21 disqualified BMC corporators yet: RTI reply

Although 21 corporators of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been disqualified since 2007, almost all of them for submitting fake caste certificates, no case has been registered against any of them so far, answer to an RTI query has revealed.

City-based activist Anil Galgali had filed the Right to Information (RTI) query with the civic body, seeking details of the action taken against the disqualified corporators.

Officer of BMC's legal department, S D Fulsunge, in his reply given recently, said no case has been filed against any corporator ever since their disqualification. He also said that the legal department forwards the election petitions to the Small Causes Court.

The election department said that most of the 21 corporators were disqualified for submitting fake caste certificates, while one of them was disqualified for flouting the two-child norm. They were elected in 2007, 2012 and 2017 civic polls.

In a separate reply, deputy law officer of the Small Causes Court, Anant Kajrolkar, also said that no FIR has been registered against any disqualified corporators so far.

Expressing his displeasure over BMC's "inaction" against the disqualified members, Galgali has written a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta.

"This is completely absurd and unprofessional. When corporators were disqualified for submitting fake caste certificates, then why didn't the BMC initiate criminal cases against them?" he asked in the letter.

"If the BMC takes action against these fraudsters, it will act as a deterrent. Otherwise, candidates will keep submitting fake certificates in every election," the activist said.