The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has dismissed an election petition filed by Prafulla Vinodrao Gudadhe against Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Gangadhar Fadnavis. The court held that the petition was not filed in accordance with Section 81(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which mandates that the election petition must be presented personally by the petitioner. Justice Pravin Patil, who delivered the order, stated that although the petitioner had sworn an affidavit on January 4, 2025, he did not appear in person to file the petition on January 6, 2025. Instead, it was submitted by his advocate, which does not fulfill the legal requirement under the Act.

 

The petition challenged the election of Devendra Fadnavis from the Nagpur South-West constituency in the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, seeking that the election be declared null and void. Responding to the petition, Fadnavis filed an application under Section 86(1) of the Act, arguing that the petition should be dismissed due to non-compliance with the requirement of personal presentation. The court agreed with this argument, noting that earlier provisions allowing filing through an authorised agent were removed from the law in 1966, and thus the presence of the petitioner at the time of filing is now mandatory. The judge underlined that swearing an affidavit and verifying documents before the Registrar does not equate to formally presenting the petition. The act of presentation involves physical submission by the petitioner, which did not happen in this case. The court also reviewed previous Supreme Court rulings and concluded that the petitioner’s reliance on High Court procedural rules could not override the statutory requirements of the Representation of the People Act.

 

As a result, the court allowed the application filed by the respondent and dismissed the election petition for non-compliance with the law. Sr Adv Sunil Manohar and Adv Uday Dable represented Fadanvis while Advs Shri Mehmood Parcha, Adv Pawan Dahat and Jatin Bhatt appeared on behalf Gudadhe.

 

 

In a separate case, lawyer and independent candidate Adv Narayan Jambhule has filed a petition against Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar, who won from Brahmapuri constituency. During the hearing, a Tehsildar submitted a faulty document, even though he is not part of the case. Adv Jambhule raised an objection and the court has now asked him to submit a written reply by Friday, July 25. The case is being heard by Justice Praveen Patil. The District Collector of Chandrapur also submitted a request to remove the Election Commission of India and the State Election Commissioner from the case. Jambhule has objected to this as well. The court will wait for his written response before making a decision.