In the close contest for the panel between the Shiv Sena and the Congress, the ruling Sena had won seven seats, BJP five, Congress three and Independent one. With the BJP supporting the Congress, Hardas (Shiv Sena) and Ramesh Mhatre of Congress had secured equal number of votes.

Hardly were the results announced, when the outgoing chairman Vilas Mhatre announced that Hardas would succeed him since he was casting his vote in Hardas' favour. In the uproar that followed, Ramesh Mhatre alleged that the outgoing chairman had failed to adhere to relevant sections of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act (1949) in appointing the new chairman and he was left with no option but to seek the court's intervention. He filed a petition in the Bombay High Court on October 15demanding that the appointment of Hardas be declared null and void.

Justice J Kapadia and Justice A P Shah have ruled that Hardas could not continue until the court's further directives in this regard. While the next hearing was scheduled for November 26, the court had allowed the panel to elect a temporary chairperson to attend the meetings to avoid delays.The panel met on Wednesday and unanimously elected Ganesh Khot (Sena) as the temporary chairperson. However, the members decided to adjourn the panel's all meetings till the court gives its final verdict.

Khot was an aspirant to the chairperson's post. However, he had decided to withdraw his candiaiture in favour of Hardas reportedly following orders from Matoshri. While Khot belongs to the Anand Dighe group, Hardas has always been close to Satish Pradhan. Meanwhile, Hardas when contacted for his reaction to the court's decision, said, "I am prepared for any eventuality including a re-election."