KDMC Corporator Madhur Umesh Mhatre Cleared in Defection Case
Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) corporator Madhur Umesh Mhatre has received significant relief after Konkan Divisional Commissioner Rubal Agarwal dismissed a disqualification petition filed against him regarding alleged defection.
In the official order, Agarwal ruled that Mhatre could not be disqualified under Section 3(1)(a) of the Maharashtra Local Authority Members’ Disqualification Act, 1986, which addresses cases where a member voluntarily gives up membership of their political party. The ruling ensures that Mhatre’s status as an elected corporator representing Ward No. 13 in Kalyan remains fully intact.
The disqualification petition was originally moved by Shiv Sena (UBT) group leader Umesh Borgaonkar and district chief Sharad Patil. The petitioners alleged that Mhatre had defected to the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on March 16. To support their claims, Borgaonkar and Patil submitted photographs, social media posts, display flexes, and noted Mhatre’s physical presence among Shinde faction corporators during a KDMC general body meeting held on March 20.
Mhatre strongly contested the charges before the divisional commissioner. He maintained that he had already been suspended and expelled from the Shiv Sena (UBT) organization on March 15, prior to the dates highlighted by the petitioners. Mhatre argued that merely meeting a political leader does not legally constitute joining a different political party or voluntarily giving up party membership under the disqualification law.
Following hearings with both sides, Divisional Commissioner Agarwal determined that the petitioners failed to provide sufficient, concrete evidence to prove that Mhatre had voluntarily surrendered his party membership. The order additionally recorded that the petitioners were absent during the final hearing of the case.
Finding the evidence inadequate, the Divisional Commissioner dismissed the disqualification plea without issuing directions concerning legal costs, allowing Mhatre to continue serving as a KDMC civic body member.
