New Delhi/Nagpur: In a major relief to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by Congress candidate Prafull Gudhade challenging his victory in the South West Nagpur Assembly constituency. The apex court upheld the Bombay High Court’s decision, which had earlier rejected the petition on technical grounds. In the 2024 Assembly election, Fadnavis defeated Gudadhe by a margin of 39,710 votes.
A division bench comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi declined to interfere with the High Court order, terming the petition “devoid of merit”.
Gold Rate
29 Oct 2025
What the petition alleged
Gudhade had sought annulment of Fadnavis’ election, alleging that the Election Commission failed to comply with mandatory legal procedures related to EVM voting prior to polling. On this basis, he demanded that the election results be quashed.
The Bombay High Court had dismissed the petition on July 4 on procedural grounds, stating that Gudhade was not personally present in court at the time of filing the petition, a requirement under election law. Due to this lapse, the petition was deemed invalid.
Gudhade later approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order.
The Supreme Court also found no substantial ground to entertain the plea, and dismissed it, ending the legal challenge to Fadnavis’ Assembly election victory.
Other election petitions also dismissed
Similar to Gudhade’s case, the Bombay High Court had dismissed five other election petitions filed against victorious candidates from different constituencies for non-compliance with procedural requirements. These included:
• Mohan Mate (South Nagpur) — Petition by Girish Pandav
• Bunty Bhangdiya (Chimur, Chandrapur) — Petition by Satish Warjukar
• Sudhir Mungantiwar (Ballarpur) — Petition by Santosh Singh Rawat
• Deorao Bholay (Rajura) — Petition by Subhash Dhote
All petitions were rejected on technical grounds.
With the Supreme Court’s decision, the legal battle over Chief Minister Fadnavis’ election win has now come to a definitive close.
