Article 243V

Disqualification Criteria and Minimum Age for Municipal Councillors

Official heading: “Disqualifications for membership”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part IXA, Article 243V, printed page 133
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Prescribes disqualifications for municipal councillors, allowing citizens aged twenty-one or older to contest.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 243V outlines the disqualification rules for municipal candidates and sitting councillors.

It aligns with state assembly election laws, but provides that no person can be disqualified on grounds of age if they have attained the age of twenty-one years.

Any dispute regarding a councillor’s disqualification must be referred to an independent judicial or quasi-judicial authority established under State law.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A 23-year-old law graduate files nomination papers for an urban ward councillor election.

Core takeaway: Under the proviso to Article 243V(1)(a), the nomination cannot be rejected on age grounds because the minimum age for municipal contesting is 21.

Illustrative Notice: State laws may prescribe specific ethical or statutory disqualifications (such as non-payment of property tax dues or holding an office of profit).

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 243V regulates candidate qualifications for city governance.

Age threshold: Fixed at 21 years.
Statutory grounds: Subject to state legislative requirements.
Independent adjudication: Disqualification matters cannot be decided summarily by political mayors.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of a Municipality— (a) if he is so disqualified by or under any law for the time being in force for the purposes of elections to the Legislature of the State concerned: Provided that no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is less than twenty-five years of age, if he has attained the age of twenty-one years; (b) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by the Legislature of the State. (2) If any question arises as to whether a member of a Municipality has become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in clause (1), the question shall be referred for the decision of such authority and in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part IXA, Article 243V, printed page 133 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource