On Monday, the Bombay High Court made a light-hearted observation while dealing with a politically sensitive dispute, humorously referring to the frequent shifting of loyalties by certain NCP councillors as “globe-trotting.” The remark came as the court temporarily put on hold the Thane district collector’s orders that had alternately recognised and withdrawn recognition of political alliances within the Ambernath civic body.
Earlier in the day, the High Court examined the decisions taken by the Thane district collector concerning post-election alliances formed after last month’s municipal council polls. The collector had first withdrawn recognition of the Ambernath Vikas Aghadi (AVA), an alliance that emerged after the BJP joined hands with the Congress, and subsequently recognised a new alliance between the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP as a pre-poll alliance.
Ambernath municipal council has a total strength of 59 seats, which means that any party or alliance seeking to form the local government must command the support of at least 30 councillors. However, following the December 20 elections, in which all parties contested independently, no single party or grouping was able to reach this majority mark. In this scenario, the BJP, which had secured 14 seats, entered into an alliance with the Congress, which had won 12 seats.
On January 7, the Thane district collector recognised this post-election arrangement as a “pre-poll alliance” under the banner of the Ambernath Vikas Aghadi. This decision immediately sparked political controversy, particularly within the Congress. The party’s central leadership rejected the alliance outright and went on to expel its own elected councillors who had supported the tie-up. Those expelled members later joined the BJP. Around the same time, the alliance also received support from one Independent councillor and four NCP councillors belonging to the Ajit Pawar faction.
Soon thereafter, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which had 27 elected councillors along with the backing of one Independent member, reached out to the same four NCP councillors while staking its own claim to form the municipal government. Acting on this development, the Thane district collector, on January 9, recognised this new combination as a pre-poll alliance and withdrew recognition from the AVA. Aggrieved by this reversal, the AVA approached the Bombay High Court challenging the collector’s decision.
A division bench comprising Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri heard the petition on Monday. During the proceedings, the judges expressed concern over the instability created by the repeated changes in allegiance by the NCP councillors. In a pointed yet humorous remark, Justice Ghuge described the councillors’ conduct as “globe-trotting,” noting how they appeared to move from one political camp to another with ease.
While disposing of the petition, the High Court chose not to rule conclusively on the validity of the competing alliances. Instead, it sent the matter back to the district collector, directing him to conduct a fresh hearing. The court instructed the collector to give all concerned parties—the BJP, Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena—an opportunity to present their arguments before passing a new order.
Justice Ghuge, while commenting on the situation, observed that the four NCP councillors had been aligned with one group earlier, were now supporting another, and could potentially switch sides again in the future. This uncertainty, the court indicated, made it difficult to rely on shifting political claims.
The bench directed all parties to submit their written representations to the collector by January 28. It further ordered that the collector must issue a fresh decision within 21 days thereafter. To safeguard the interests of any aggrieved party, the court also directed that the collector’s final order should not be implemented for a period of two weeks, allowing time for legal recourse.
Until a fresh decision is taken following this process, the High Court clarified that the collector’s earlier communications dated January 7 and January 9—relating to the recognition and de-recognition of the respective alliances—will remain suspended.
