Bombay High Court Dismisses Plea Against Rejection of Nomination for Upcoming Maharashtra Polls
The bench noted that ECI’s notice published on October 22 had specified that the deadline for submission was 11 AM on October 30, which Dafedar failed to meet.
The Bombay High Court has dismissed the petition filed by Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s candidate Aakifahmed Dafedar, whose candidature for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly Polls was rejected.
The vacation bench, comprising Justice Arif Doctor and Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan, heard Dafedar’s petition challenging the returning officer’s decision to reject his nomination for the Bandra West constituency.
The petition claimed that he was instructed on October 29 to complete and submit his nomination by 11:45 PM on October 31 due to missing details.
Dafedar contended that he submitted his nomination the following day, but it was ultimately rejected by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Advocate Akshay Shinde, representing the Election Commission of India (ECI), argued that Dafedar should pursue an election petition rather than a writ petition in this case.
He stated that Dafedar’s nomination was rejected because the scrutiny process began at 11 AM, as per ECI's timeline. Shinde also argued that the final list of candidates had already been prepared, and allowing Dafedar’s petition would disrupt the election process at a critical stage.
The bench noted that ECI’s notice published on October 22 had specified that the deadline for submission was 11 AM on October 30, which Dafedar failed to meet.
Additionally, the court observed that Dafedar's nomination was incomplete, as key information regarding his criminal record and financial status was missing.