JUDGMENT
Swatanter Kumar, C.J.
1. The Petitioner has filed the present Public Interest Litigation under Article 226 of the Constitution of India with the following prayers :
(A) That this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to issue writ of mandamus or writ in the nature of mandamus or such other appropriate writ, direction or order directing to Respondent No. 1 to 3 and Hon’ble Small Causes Court, Bombay not to proceed to declare 2nd highest votes obtainer to be winner and/or hold Bye election for Municipal Councilor from Municipal Ward No. 114 at Surya Nagar, Chandan Nagar, Godrej Colony, Vikhroli East and West, Bombay 400 083, until the final disposal of the petition.
(B) That pending the hearing and final disposal of this Writ Petition, the Respondents Nos. 1 to 3, their respective agents, servants and all the officer/authorities acting for them or Hon’ble Small Causes Court, Bombay or any of them be restrained by an order and injunction of this Hon’ble Court from any manner whatsoever by declaring the 2nd highest votes obtainer to be winner and/or holding the Bye election of the Municipal Councilor from Municipal Ward Number 114 at Surya Nagar, Chandan Nagar, Godrej Colony, Vikhroli East and West, Bombay 400 083, until the final disposal of this petition.
(C) That adinterim/interim relief’s in terms of prayer (b) above.
(D) Cost of the petition be provided for, and
(E) Such other and further relief’s as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper may also be granted.
2. The necessary facts may be noticed at the very outset to appreciate the worth of the prayers made by the Petitioner who appears in person in the present Petition. The State Election Commission had declared Municipal General Elections, 2007, to be held on 1st February 2007. According to the Schedule, Ward No. 114 was declared as a reserved seat for O.B.C. women category in the Municipal elections. As per Schedule, the election was held, the result of which was declared on 2nd February 2007 and Smt. Rashmi Ramesh Pahudkar was declared as elected from the said Ward. The correctness of the caste certificate submitted by her was challenged before the Caste Verification Committee, which was invalidated by the order dated 12th April 2007 of the Competent Authority. This order was challenged by Smt. Rashmi Ramesh Pahudkar on 25th April 2007 by filing Writ Petition in this Court being Writ Petition No. 3563 of 2007. The Division Bench of this Court vide its Order dated 28th June 2007 found that there was no merit in the Writ Petition and the Rule was discharged. However, the Bench observed that since the Petitioner had contested the elections bona fide, she could not be prosecuted for obtaining a false caste certificate. In the mean while, vide order dated 27th November 2007, the State Election Commissioner, Respondent No. 1, had directed the bye elections in Ward No. 114 and the Petitioner in this Petition in the garb of the Public Interest Litigation has in fact prayed that the said order should be set aside and neither the second highest vote obtainer should be declared as winner nor bye elections should be held from Ward No. 114.
3. As is evident from the above narrated facts, the present Petition filed under the garb of Public Interest Litigation in fact is intended to serve a personal cause in favour of Smt.Rashmi Ramesh Pahudkar. The prayers made in the present Petition are also contrary to law as the Small Causes Court, Bombay, while exercising its powers as an Election Court cannot be restrained in law from exercising a jurisdiction lawfully vested in it. The present Petition in fact is an abuse of process of law and does not satisfy the basic essentials spelt out under various judicial dictum as a Public Interest Litigation. The Petitioner, in fact, has attempted to overreach the normal process of law contemplated under the special Statute relating to elections to the Municipal Corporation and has filed this Petition with an attempt to obstruct the normal course of law.
4. In the circumstances, we find no merit in this Petition and dismiss the same with costs which are assessed at Rs. 5,000/ (Rupees Five Thousand only). Costs to be paid to the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority.