Kalpana Dilip Bahirat vs Pune Municipal Corp.& Ors

The Supreme Court held that the appellant's election to the Pune Municipal Corporation was invalid due to the lack of a genuine caste certificate as mandated by Section 5B of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949 and the Maharashtra Caste Certificate Act, 2000. The Court emphasized that under Article 243ZG, the election could only be challenged through an election petition, not a writ petition, and thus upheld the High Court's dismissal of the appellant's writ petition for not approaching with clean hands. The Court ruled that the election was ab initio null and void, affirming the decision of the Municipal Corporation.