Our political leaders may have any number of children, but they cannot be barred from contesting elections. A housing society in Powai, however, is barring its members from standing for society elections if they have more than two children. They allege that the committee of Phulora Co-Operative Housing Society has bypassed Society Acts by barring them, and has not given them complete information about the law.
“The society circulated a letter but they wrote that any member who has more than two children cannot nominate, propose or second in the society’s election. This meant that 11 out of 28 members were deprived of filling the nomination form,” says Kishor Patankar whose 77-year-old mother could not nominate members or stand for election due to this provision.
Seventy three -year-old Maniben Gala, another resident, who has three sons, was also barred.
“We wrote to the committee on August 30 and asked secretary Sudhir Gokarn to tell us the exact date and year after which a member who has a third child is disqualified to become member of the managing committee, or a proposer, or a seconder. There was no reply,” says Nixon Johny, a resident.
According to veteran housing society activist J B Patel, the committee has made the error of not mentioning the year, and has misinterpreted the existing provision.
“According to the Maharashtra Cooperative Society Act’s (1960) third amendment in 2001, anybody who has more than two children, barring multiple children in a single delivery or adoption of any number of children, will be disqualified with effect from September 7, 2001 for lifetime, to contest an election or being co opted in a management committee. This means, that a member who is a parent can still propose or second because the law is silent on that,” says Patel.
The residents allege that this is just one of the ways of the committee to illegally debar people from participating in the election, so that the committee can do what they want. They also allege that the secretary of the managing committee is in connivance with the developer.
Despite repeated attempts to contact him personally and by cellphone, secretary Sudhir Gokarn refused to comment.
Source: Sudeshna Chatterjee Mumbai Mirror.com
