Bombay High Court
PANDHARINATH KARBHARI THOREversusTHE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THRU SECRETARY AND ORS
- Decided
- Disposal
- Disposed Off
Holding
The Court did not decide the merits but ordered the matter to be heard and decided by the Minister, effectively dismissing the petition without adjudicating the jurisdictional issue.
Summary
The petitioner, a member of the Managing Committee of the Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee, challenged an interim order dated 4 August 2026 in which the Minister (Marketing) stayed the election of the Committee's Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson. The petitioner argued that the proceedings before the Minister were not maintainable and that the Minister lacked jurisdiction to pass the order. The High Court, after hearing counsel, directed that the parties appear before the Minister on 8 September 2026 to consider the petition for impleadment and the jurisdictional objection, and ordered the Minister to decide the matter within a week of the hearing. The Court clarified that it had not examined the merits and kept all contentions open for the Minister's adjudication. Consequently, the writ petition was disposed without a substantive ruling on the merits.
Issues considered
- What is the jurisdiction of the Minister (Marketing) to stay the election of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee?
- Are the proceedings before the Minister maintainable under the applicable law?
Subjects
- jurisdiction
- ministerial order
- interim stay
- agricultural produce market committee
- writ petition
- maintainability
- impleadment
Judgment
902.WP.10983.2026.DOC
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO. 10983 OF 2026
Pandharinath Karbhari Thore ...Petitioner.
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Anr. …Respondents.
Mr. Nitin Gaware Patil a/w Mr. Shivkumar S. Jangwad i/b. Mr.
Narayan Rokhade, for the Petitioner.
Ms. Savika Prabhune, AGP for the State.
Mr. Bhushan Deshmukh, for the Respondent No. 5.
CORAM: N. J. JAMADAR, J.
DATE : 27th AUGUST 2026
P.C.:
1. Heard the learned Counsel for the Petitioner.
2. The challenge in this Petition is to an interim order passed by
the Minister on 4th August 2026, whereby the Minister (Marketing)
has stayed the election to elect the Chairperson and Deputy
Chairperson of the Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market
Committee.
3. The Petitioner is a member of the Managing Committee of
the APMC. The Petitioner has filed an application before the
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902.WP.10983.2026.DOC
Minister seeking impleadment as a party to the said proceeding
before the Minister.
4. The grievance of the Petitioner, as articulated by Mr. Patil,
learned Counsel for the Petitioner, is that the proceedings before
the Minister are not maintainable and that the impugned order has
been passed without jurisdiction.
5. Since the Petitioner has appeared before the Minister and
filed an application for impleadment, and also raised the issue of
the maintainability of the proceedings before the Minister, it would
be in the interest of justice that the Minister hears and decides the
said proceedings expeditiously.
6. The parties shall appear before the Minister on 8 th September
2026.
7. The Minister is requested to hear the application for
impleadment and the objection to the jurisdiction of the Minister
to entertain and decide Appeal Application No. 36 of 2026, as
expeditiously as possible, and pass an appropriate order within a
period of one week from the date of appearance of the parties.
8. It is clarified that this Court has not entered into the merits
of the matter, and all contentions of all the parties are kept open
for adjudication and decision by the Minister.
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902.WP.10983.2026.DOC
9. The parties shall co-operate with the State Government in
the expeditious disposal of the proceeding and shall not seek any
unnecessary adjournment.
10. The Petition stands disposed.
[N. J. JAMADAR, J.]
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