Nagpur: In a major relief to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging his election from the Nagpur South-West constituency in the 2024 Assembly polls.
The plea, filed by senior Congress leader and former Nagpur civic opposition leader Prafulla Vinodrao Gudadhe, had alleged electoral malpractices and procedural irregularities. Gudadhe, a longtime political rival of Fadnavis, lost to him by 39,710 votes in the last election.
Gold Rate
08 july 2025
However, the court — presided over by Justice Praveen Patil — rejected the petition on technical grounds, holding that Gudadhe was not physically present at the time of filing, a mandatory requirement under election laws.
Senior advocate Sunil Manohar, appearing for Fadnavis, pointed out that although Gudadhe had signed the documents before the court clerk and registrar on January 4, the formal filing was completed on January 6 by his legal team, in his absence.
Gudadhe’s senior counsel Mehmood Pracha argued that January 5 was a Sunday and the Congress leader had to attend an important party meeting in Delhi. Despite the explanation, the court upheld the objection and ruled that the petition was not maintainable.
Similar technical objections were raised in four other election petitions filed against BJP MLAs Mohan Mate (Nagpur South), Sudhir Mungantiwar (Ballarpur), Deorao Bhongle (Rajura), and Kiritkumar Bhangadia (Chimur). All five petitions, including the one against Fadnavis, were dismissed on identical grounds.
Reacting to the ruling, Gudadhe’s counsel Pavan Dahat confirmed that the dismissal was solely on the basis of the petitioner’s absence during the filing process. He said the legal team intends to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
