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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court on Monday questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) on its decision to reject the nomination of a Vanchit Bahujan Samaj (VBS) candidate, Aakifahmed Dafedar, at 11 AM on October 30. 

The vacation bench, comprising Justice Arif Doctor and Justice Somsekhar Sundaresan, directed the ECI to file an affidavit explaining why the nomination deadline was set at 11 AM during working hours.

The court was hearing Dafedar's petition, which stated that he had been instructed on October 29 to complete and submit his nomination by 11:45 PM on October 31 due to missing details. 

Dafedar submitted that he filed his nomination the following day, but it was subsequently rejected by the ECI. 

Advocate Akshay Shinde, representing the ECI, argued that Dafedar should file an election petition rather than a writ petition in this matter. 

He further submitted that the nomination was rejected as the scrutiny process had commenced at 11 AM.

However, the bench questioned why the ECI set a deadline of 11 AM during its working hours, asking why it was not set at 12 or 1 PM instead.

The bench was also informed that other candidates' nominations had been rejected for the same reason.

The bench will continue hearing the petition tomorrow.