Supreme Court freezes filling of Vishakha Raut's vacant Mumbai seat

The Supreme Court of India has issued a significant ruling regarding the disqualification of former Mumbai Mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Vishakha Raut. While the court declined to stay the Mumbai High Court's decision to cancel her municipal councilor status, it has placed a freeze on filling the vacant seat in Ward 191 (Dadar West-Shivaji Park) until her legal appeal regarding her caste certificate is resolved.

Raut was elected to a seat reserved for Other Backward Class (OBC) women. However, the Palghar District Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee invalidated her Kunbi OBC certificate on August 20, leading the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to declare her membership terminated.

A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta directed the Divisional Commissioner of the Konkan Division to expedite the decision on Raut's pending statutory appeal. The court emphasized that the appellate authority must decide the matter independently based on its merits, without being influenced by the previous High Court order. The seat will remain vacant until a final decision is reached on the certificate's validity.