Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

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3. Constitution of the Council and its incorporation.

Statutory text

(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, as soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, constitute the Council to be called the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture.
(2) The Council shall be a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire, hold, transfer or dispose of movable and immovable property, and to contract and may by the name aforesaid sue and be sued.
(3) The Council shall consist of the following Members, namely :-
- (a) five Members, who are citizens of India, elected from such constituencies and in such manner as may be prescribed, by the Registered Acupuncture practitioners from amongst themselves ;
- (b) two Members nominated by the State Government from amongst the Registered Acupuncture practitioners, both of whom shall be a citizen of India ;
- (c) one Member nominated by the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences ;
- (d) one Member nominated by the State Government from amongst the heads, called by any name, of the affiliated Acupuncture institutions ;
- (e) one Member nominated by the State Government from amongst the heads, called by any name, of recognized research institutes.
(4) The election of the Members referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (3) shall be held at such time and at such place and in such manner, as may be prescribed.
(5) If the nomination of a Member as per clause (c) of sub-section (3) is not made by the prescribed date, it shall be lawful for the State Government to nominate a Registered Acupuncture practitioner to fill up the vacancy.
(6) If at any election under clause (a) of sub-section (3), the electors fail to elect the requisite number of Members, it shall be lawful for the State Government to nominate such Registered Acupuncture practitioner or practitioners as it deems fit, to fill up the vacancy or vacancies; and the practitioners so nominated shall be deemed to have been duly elected under this section. 1[(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing sub-sections or elsewhere in this Act, in case of constitution of the council for the first time,-
- (i) the members referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (3) shall be nominated by the State Government;
- (ii) the members to be nominated by the State Government from various categories specified in clauses (b), (d) and (e) shall also be nominated by the State Government irrespective of the categories specified in said clauses: Provided that, the nomination of members referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (3) by the State Government prior to the commencement of the Maharashtra Acupuncture System of Therapy (Amendment) Act, 2018 (Mah. LXXIV of 2018) on the first Council shall be deemed to have been made in accordance with the provisions of this sub-section, as amended by the said Act.
(8) The President and the Vice-President shall be elected by the Members of the Council from amongst themselves at its first meeting after its reconstitution, at which quorum is present: Provided that, the President and the Vice-President of the first Council shall be nominated by the State Government : Provided further that, a person, who holds or who has held the office as the President or Vice-President, as the case may be, shall, subject to the other provisions of this Act, be eligible for re-election to that office.
(9) Where any dispute arises regarding any election of a Member or the President or the Vice-President, it shall be referred to the State Government, and the decision of the State Government shall be final.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

4. Term of office.

Statutory text

(1) The Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, publish the names of the Members, both elected and nominated.
(2) Save as otherwise provided by this Act, a Member whether elected or nominated, shall hold office for a term of five years from the date of publication of the notification under sub-section (1).
(3) Save as otherwise provided by this Act, the President and the Vice-President shall hold the office from the date of their election, till the day on which their term of office as Member expires.
(4) The term of office of an outgoing Member shall, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), be deemed to extend to and expire with, the day immediately preceding the day on which the names of the successor Members are published under sub-section (1).
(5) The term of office of an outgoing President or Vice-President shall, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3), be deemed to extend to and expire with, the day immediately preceding the day on which the successor President or Vice-President, as the case may be, is elected.
(6) An outgoing Member shall be eligible for re-election or re-nomination.
(7) Leave of absence may be granted by the Council to any Member for a period not exceeding six months.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

5. Casual vacancies.

Statutory text

(1) Any casual vacancy, before the expiry of the term of the office of the President or the Vice-President or of a Member elected under clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section 3, caused by reason of death, resignation, disqualification or disability or any other reason, shall be filled by election : Provided that, any such vacancy in the office of an elected Member occurring within six months prior to the date on which the term of office of all the Members expires, shall not be filled.
(2) Any casual vacancy, previous to the expiry of the term in the office of a Member nominated under clauses (b), (c), (d) and (e) of sub-section (3) of section 3 shall be reported forthwith by the Registrar to the State Government or the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, as the case may be, and shall, as soon as possible thereafter, be filled by the State Government or the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, as the case may be, by nomination.
(3) Any person elected under sub-section (1) or nominated under sub-section (2) to fill a casual vacancy shall, notwithstanding anything contained in section 4, hold office only so long as the person, in whose place he is elected or nominated, would have held office if the vacancy had not occurred.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

6. Casual vacancy of President.

Statutory text

(1) If the President dies or resigns his office or ceases to hold office, the Council shall elect another person from amongst themselves as a President and such President shall hold office for the unexpired period of the term of office of the former President.
(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), in the event of the occurrence of any vacancy in the office of the President under sub-section (1), the Vice-President shall discharge the functions of the President until a new President is elected.
(3) When the President is unable to discharge the duties of his office owing to absence, illness or any other cause, the Vice-President shall discharge the functions of the President until the date on which the President resumes his duties.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

7. Resignation.

Statutory text

(1) The President or Vice-President may, at any time, resign his office by a notice in writing addressed to the Council and delivered to the Registrar. The resignation shall take effect from the date on which it is accepted by the Council.
(2) An elected Member may at any time, resign his office by a notice in writing addressed to the President. A nominated Member may at any time resign his office by a notice in writing addressed to the Government or the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, as the case may be. Every such resignation shall take effect from the date on which it is accepted by the Government or the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, as the case may be.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

8. Disqualification.

Statutory text

(1) A person shall be disqualified for being elected or nominated as, and for continuing as, a Member, if,-
- (a) he is, or becomes of, unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court ; or
- (b) he is, or has been, convicted of any offence involving moral turpitude, which in the opinion of the Government renders him unfit to be a Member of the Council ; or
- (c) he is, or at any time has been, adjudicated as an un-discharged insolvent ; or
- (d) his name has been removed from the register and has not been re-entered therein ; or
- (e) he is an employee of the Council ; or
- (f) he has directly or indirectly any share or interest in any contract with, by or on behalf of, the Council ; or
- (g) he has been dismissed from the service of the Union Government or a State Government or a Panchayat or a Municipality on a charge of gross misconduct or an offence involving moral turpitude ; or
- (h) he is a person under the age of 21 years. Explanation.- For the purposes of clause (g), the words "Panchayat" and "Municipality" shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in clause (d) of article 243 and clause (e) of article 243-P of the Constitution of India, respectively.
(2) If any Member absents himself from three consecutive meetings of the Council, without leave of the Council or without such reason as may, in the opinion of the Council, be sufficient, the Council may declare his seat vacant and take steps to fill the vacancy.
(3) If any Member becomes or is found to be subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in sub-section (1), the Council shall submit a report to the Government, and the Government, if satisfied about the disqualification, shall declare his seat vacant.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

9. Meetings of Council.

Statutory text

(1) The meetings of the Council shall be convened, held and conducted in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) No business shall be transacted at any meeting of the Council unless a quorum of five Members is present.
(3) The President, when present, shall preside at every meeting of the Council. If at any meeting the President is absent, the Vice-President, and in the absence of the President and the Vice-President, some other Member elected by the Members present from amongst themselves, shall preside at such meeting.
(4) All questions at the meeting of the Council shall be decided by a majority of votes.
(5) In case of an equality of votes, the presiding authority shall exercise a second or a casting vote.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

10. Proceedings of meetings and validity of acts.

Statutory text

(1) The proceedings of the discussion of every meeting of the Council, shall be treated as confidential; and no person shall, without the previous resolution of the Council, disclose any proceedings thereof : Provided that, nothing in this section shall prohibit a person from disclosing or publishing the text of a resolution adopted by the Council unless the Council directs such resolution also to be treated as a confidential.
(2) No act or proceeding of the Council shall be invalid merely by reason of,-
- (a) any vacancy in or any defect in, the constitution of the Council ; or
- (b) any defect in the election or nomination of a person as a Member of the Council ; or
- (c) any irregularity in the procedure of the Council not affecting the merits of the case : Provided that, the question whether such irregularity in procedure of the Council affects the merits of the case or not, shall be decided by the President whose decision shall be final and binding.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

11. Executive Committee and other committees.

Statutory text

(1) The Council shall, as soon as may be, constitute from amongst its Members an Executive Committee and other committees to perform such functions, discharge such duties and exercise such powers as may be delegated by the Council.
(2) The Executive Committee shall consist of the President and the Vice-President as ex-officio Members and three other Members elected by the Council in the prescribed manner from amongst themselves.
(3) The President and the Vice-President of the Council shall be the President and the Vice-President, respectively, of the Executive Committee.
(4) The Registrar shall act as the secretary to the Executive Committee.
(5) No business shall be transacted at any meeting of the Executive Committee unless a quorum of three Members is present.
(6) A Member of the Executive Committee shall hold office until the expiry of his term of office as a Member of the Council and he shall be eligible for re-election.
(7) A Member may resign his Membership of the Committee by writing under his hand addressed to the President of the Committee and the consequent vacancy shall be filled by the Council by electing from amongst themselves another Member, who shall not already be a Member of the Committee.
(8) The Executive Committee shall exercise such powers and perform such functions and discharge such duties as may be prescribed.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

12. Income and expenditure of Council.

Statutory text

(1) The income of the Council shall consist of,-
- (a) fees received from the practitioners;
- (b) any other sums, including donations, received by the Council : Provided that, no donation shall be received by the Council from a foreign national, body, agency, institution or Government without the previous approval of the State Government.
(2) It shall be competent for the Council to incur expenditure for the following purposes, namely :-
- (a) salaries and allowances of the Registrar and other staff maintained by the Council ;
- (b) fees and allowances paid to the Members of the Council and the Executive Committee ;
- (c) remuneration paid to the assessors ; and
- (d) such other expenses as are necessary for exercising powers, performing functions and discharging duties under this Act.

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

13. Registrar.

Statutory text

(1) The Council shall, with the previous sanction of the State Government, appoint a Registrar possessing such qualifications as may be prescribed.
(2) The Executive Committee may, from time to time, grant leave to the Registrar : Provided that, if the period of leave does not exceed 30 days, the leave may be granted by the President.
(3) During any temporary vacancy in the office of the Registrar, due to leave or any other reason, the Deputy Registrar shall act as Registrar. If the Registrar and the Deputy Registrar both are not available, the Executive Committee may, with previous sanction of the State Government, appoint any other person to act in his place, and any person so appointed shall, for the period of such appointment, be deemed to be the Registrar for the purposes of this Act : Provided that, when the period of such vacancy does not exceed 30 days, the appointment may be made by the President, who shall forthwith report such appointment to the Executive Committee and the State Government.
(4) The Council may with the previous sanction of the Government, suspend, dismiss or remove any person appointed as Registrar, or impose any other penalty upon him : Provided that, before passing any order under this sub-section, the Registrar shall be given reasonable opportunity of being heard.
(5) Save as otherwise provided by this Act, the salary and allowances and other conditions of service of the Registrar shall be such as may be prescribed.
(6) The Registrar shall be the ex-officio secretary and executive officer of the Council. He shall also act as the secretary to other committees, if any, constituted by the Council.
(7) He shall attend all meetings of the Council, Executive Committee and other committees and shall keep minutes of the meetings and names of the Members present and of the proceedings of such meetings.
(8) The accounts of the Council shall be kept by the Registrar in the prescribed manner.
(9) The Registrar shall have such supervisory powers over the staff as may be prescribed and may perform such other functions and discharge such other duties as may be specified in this Act or as may be prescribed.
(10) The Registrar shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (XLV of 1860).

Chapter II CONSTITUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS INCORPORATION

14. Other employees of Council.

Statutory text

(1) Apart from the Registrar, the Council may appoint one or more Deputy Registrars and such other officers and servants as it may deem necessary and expedient for performing functions and discharging duties under this Act: Provided that, the number and designation of such officers and servants and their salaries and allowances shall be determined by the Council, with the previous sanction of the Government.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) but subject to such financial limit as may be laid down in this behalf by the Council, it shall be competent for the Executive Committee to create posts of clerks and servants, and to make appointments thereto, for such periods as may be prescribed to meet any temporary increase in work, or to carry out any work of seasonal character.
(3) The other conditions of service of officers and servants shall be such as may be prescribed.
(4) Officers and servants appointed under this Act shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (XLV of 1860).

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