MAHARASHTRA MUNICIPAL COUNCILS AND MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS (POSTPONMENT OF ELECTIONS DURING THE EMERGENCY) ACT, 1975

13th December 1975

An Act to provide for the Postpone of Elections to Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations during the period of the Emergency declared on the 25th day of June 1975.

WHEREAS both Houses of the Legislature of the State were not in Session

AND WHEREAS general and by-elections to some of the Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations in the State were due or likely to be due in the near future

AND WHEREAS, because of the Emergency declared on the 25th June 1975, the Government and municipal officers and servants, who are necessary to hold such elections are required to direct all effort towards other programmes to be taken up during the Emergency and consequently would not be available for election work and it would also be inconvenient for the members of the public in 9e11cra] to have such elections during such period;

AND WHEREAS for these and other reasons hereinafter appearing it was expedient to postpone such elections

AND WHEREAS, in consequence of which postponement, it was necessary to extend the term of office of Councillor (including Presidents) and administrators of certain Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations and to provide for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid

AND WHEREAS the Governor of Maharashtra was satisfied that circumstances existed which rendered it necessary for him to take immediate action to provide for postponement of the elections and extension of the term of office as aforesaid, and to provide for the purposes connected with the matters as aforesaid and, therefore, promulgated the Maharashtra Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations (Postponement of Elections due to the Emergency) Ordinance, 1975, on the 18th day of September 1975

AND WHEREAS it is expedient to replace the said Ordinance by an Act of the State Legislature with certain modifications hereinafter appearing it is hereby enacted in the Twenty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

SECTION 01: SHORT TITLE COMMENCEMENT AND DURATION

(1)This Act may be called the Maharashtra Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations (Postponement of Elections during the Emergency) Act, 1975.

(2)It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 18^th day of September 1975.

(3) It shall remain in force during the period of operation of the Proclamation of Emergency issued under clause (1) of article 352 of the Constitution of India on the 25th day of June 1975 and for a period of six months thereafter, or until such earlier date as may be notified by the State Government in the Official Gazette, and shall then expire. Section 7 of the Bombay General Clauses Act, 1904, shall apply 11 the expiry of this Act, as if it had been repeated by a Maharashtra Act.

SECTION 02: DEFINITIONS

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) “administrator” means any person by whatever name called appointed under the relevant Act to exercise the powers and perform the duties and discharge the functions of any Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation which is super seded or dissolved, and includes an administrator appointed under section 313 of the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965 or appointed under paragraph 22 of Part IV of Appendix IV to the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949.

(b) Municipal Council means a Municipal Council constituted under the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965

(c) Municipal Corporation means a Municipal Corporation constituted under the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act or the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, or the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, 1948

(d) “relevant Act “, in relation to any Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation, means the Act referred to in clause (b) or C above under which it is constituted

(e) words and expressions used in this Act and not defined herein shall, in relation to any Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation, have the meanings assigned to them under the relevant Act.

SECTION 03: POSTPONEMENT OF ELECTIONS AND EXTENSION OF TERM OF OFFICER OF COUNCILLORS ETC

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the relevant Act or the rules made hereunder or in any judgment, decree or order of any Court,—

(a) during the Period this Act is in force, no general election of the Councillors or President of any Municipal Council or of the Councillors of any Municipal Corporation and no election to fill any casual vacancy of any such Councillor or President shall be held (or if commenced, and the poll has not taken place any such election shall not be completed)

(b) the term of office of all Councillors and Presidents of the Municipal Councils (whether elected, nominated, appointed, co-opted or ex-officio) and of all Councillors of the Municipal Corporation!, who were in office on the date of commencement of this Act (whether their term or extended term had expired before will expire after the said date at any time during the period this Act is in force) shall be deemed to have been extended or to be intended, as the case may be, and such Councillors a Presidents shall continue to hold office during the period this Act is In force;

(c) the term of the administrators of any Municipal Councils or Municipal Corporations, who wore in office on the date of commencement of this Act (whether their term or extended term had expired before or will expire after the said date at any time during the period this Act is in for shall be deemed to have been extended or to he extended, as the case may be and such administrators or any other persons appointed as administrators in their places from time to time, shall continue to hold office during the period this Act is in force.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), after the term of office of the Councillors and Presidents and administrators of the Municipal Councils and of the Councillors and administrators of the Municipal Corporations as extended by this Act expires, they shall continue to hold office till the day immediately preceding the day on which the first meeting of the constituted or reconstituted Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation, as the case may be is held, where there is a quorum.

SECTION 04: POWERS TO NOMINATE COUNCILLORS

Notwithstanding anything contained in the last preceding section or in the relevant Act, if, in the opinion of the State Government, by reason of absence of a quorum, a Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation is unable to exercise the powers and perform the duties and discharge the functions conferred or imposed upon it by or under the relevant Act or any other law for the time being in force. the State Government may, by order, published in the Official Gazette, nominate such number of duly qualified persons to be Councillors of such Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation and for such period not exceeding the period specified in clause (b) of the last preceding section, as it thinks necessary.

SECTION 05: POWERS OF COUNCILLORS ETC WHOSE TERM OF OFFICE STANDS EXTENDED AND VALIDATION OF CERTAIN ACTS

A Councillors, Presidents and administrators of the Municipal Councils and all Councillors and administrators of the Municipal Corporations, whose term of office is deemed to have been extended or is extended, as the case may be, under section 3, shall, throughout the extended period also (whether before or after the commencement of this Act), be deemed to have been and be competent to exercise all powers, perform all duties and discharge all functions as such Councillors or Presidents or administrators, as the case may be and no act done by any Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation or such Councillors, Presidents or administrators during the said period shall be invalid, or shall be called in question in any Court, merely on the ground that the term of office was not extended in time, or was not otherwise duly extended, or that during the extended period the Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation, Councillor, President or administrator could not exercise all powers or perform all duties or discharge all functions of the Council, Corporation, Councillor, President or administrator, as the case may be.

SECTION 06: APPLICATION OF RELEVANT ACT

Except as otherwise provided by or under this Act, the relevant Act shall in all other respects apply in the case of the concerned Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation.

SECTION 07: REMOVAL OF DIFFICULTIES

If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, or by reason pf anything contained therein, or in giving effect to the provisions of any relevant Act. In respect of any matter contained in this Act, the State Government may, as occasion arises, by order, do anything which appears to it to be necessary for the purposes of removing the difficulty.

SECTION 08: REPEAL OF MAH ORD X OF 1975 AND SAVING

(1) The Maharashtra Municipal Councils and Municipal Corporations (Postponment of Elections due to the Emergency) Ordinance, 1975, is hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal anything done or any action taken (including any appointment or nomination made or any order issued) under the said Ordinance, shall be deemed to have been done, taken, made or issued as the case may be, under the corresponding provisions of this Act.