The Bombay High Court on Friday stayed the disqualification of Thane’s three corporators facing charges of abetting the suicide of builder Suraj Parmar.
Vacation Judge B R Gavai of the HC granted relief to three corporators Hanumant Jagdale (NCP), Vikrant Chavan (Congress) and Sudhakar Chavan (MNS turned Independent) the ground that Najeeb Mulla, NCP corporator from Thane and co accused in this case, had been given similar relief earlier.
last month, the Urban Development department of the Maharashtra government had written to the Commissioner of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) directing civic administration to disqualify the four corporators booked in the Suraj Parmar suicide case. The state government told the TMC that in the event of the civic administration not disqualifying the four corporators, it would use its powers to disqualify the corporators concerned.
The Commissioner placed the disqualification proposal before the TMC’s general body meeting. Shiv Sena’s Mayor Sanjay More took stand that since the matter was sub judice, the civic body would have to take a legal opinion before resorting to the disqualification of four corporators. As a result, the TMC’s general body did not take any decision vis-a-vis the disqualification of the corporators concerned.
Jagdale, Vikrant and Sudhakar had moved the High Court challenging the Urban Development department’s order directing the civic administration to disqualify them on the ground the ruling BJP-Sena government had ordered their disqualification due to political reasons.
All the four corporators are currently on bail.
Parmar had shot himself dead at his construction site office on October 7 last year.
In his 13-page suicide note, Parmar had alleged that a coterie of local corporators and officials had been harassing him for bribes. He had also alleged that the coterie was trying to stall his various housing projects involving crores of rupees.
A note book left by Parmar in his car, in which he had named corporators who had allegedly taken money from him and were demanding huge bribes from him granting civic clearances and permissions, had opened Pandora’s Box.
The police had arrested four Thane corporators Chavan), Mulla, Jagdale and Chavan of the TMC for allegedly abetting Parmar’s suicide and committing and offences of criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act.