First petition filed in Bombay High Court against Pune’s new ward structure.
Petition alleges PMC violated guidelines, reducing SC voters in Mangala Peth–KEM Hospital ward from 28,000 to 8,000.
‘Aarakshan Bachav Kruti Samiti’ says objections were ignored, forcing legal action.
Pune, 9th October 2025: The Aarakshan Bachav Kruti Samiti has filed the first petition with the Bombay High Court, challenging the newly announced ward structure of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The petition argues that the PMC ignored natural boundaries and official guidelines while redrawing the ward boundaries.
The petition states that the number of Scheduled Caste voters in the Mangalwar Peth–KEM Hospital ward (No. 24) has significantly decreased from almost 28,000 to about 8,000. This decline, according to the petition, will hinder the ward's reservation for the Scheduled Caste category. The ward's total population is 76,000, whereas most other city wards have populations between 85,000 and 100,000.
The petition also claims that the PMC disregarded natural boundaries and divided several enumeration blocks, dispersing Scheduled Caste and minority voters into various wards. "Even after submitting approximately 300 objections during the suggestion and objection period, the administration ignored them," stated Adv. Nitin Paratane, the committee coordinator and city Congress vice-president. "We had no choice but to take the matter to the High Court."
The High Court has admitted the petition and is expected to hear the matter soon.
