HC restores BJP candidate’s nomination for Navi Mumbai civic polls

The Bombay High Court restored BJP candidate Nilesh Bhojane's nomination for Navi Mumbai's Ward 17A, overturning its previous rejection due to alleged illegal construction.

MUMBAI: In a significant relief to BJP candidate Nilesh Bhojane, the Bombay High Court on Friday restored his nomination for the post of councillor from Ward 17A of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), setting aside its rejection by the returning officer (RO).

HC restores BJP candidate’s nomination for Navi Mumbai civic polls

A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad struck down the RO’s order, which had rejected Bhojane’s nomination citing alleged illegal construction at his residence in Vashi. The court observed that the legal provision relied upon by the RO was applicable only to an elected councillor and not to a contesting candidate.

According to Bhojane’s petition, he filed his nomination on December 30, 2025, to contest from Ward 17A. However, during scrutiny the following day, the nomination was rejected after a complaint was received by the returning office alleging unauthorised construction at his residence.

Terming the rejection “illegal, invalid and improper”, Bhojane sought quashing of the RO’s order. In his plea, filed on January 5, he stated that the plot was originally allotted over four decades ago to his father, Chhaburao Bhojane, by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).

Allowing the plea, the bench held that the RO’s decision could not be sustained in law. It directed the competent authority to include Bhojane’s name in the list of validly nominated candidates. The court clarified that the municipal election process would continue as per schedule and directed the State Election Commission (SEC) and the NMMC electoral officer to make necessary arrangements, including reprinting of ballot papers, to add Bhojane’s name.

As per Bhojane’s case, the original structure on the plot was old and dilapidated. His father had obtained no-objection certificates from CIDCO in 2012 and from the NMMC in 2013 before reconstructing the structure and carrying out some additional construction. However, in February last year, the NMMC issued a notice alleging unauthorised commercial use of the premises.

Subsequently, pursuant to a court order in March 2025 directing the NMMC to identify and act against illegal structures in Navi Mumbai, the civic body issued a letter to Bhojane in June alleging that his house was being used for commercial purposes. Bhojane submitted the requisite documents, after which the NMMC recorded that he had permission for construction of the house.

Following the announcement of election dates and the filing of nominations, Bhojane claimed that Kishor Patkar, a Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) candidate from Ward 17A, lodged a complaint alleging illegal construction at the plot.

Bhojane further pointed out that his father had transferred the house and plot to him through a registered gift deed in 2015, which was approved by CIDCO in October that year, and that no structural changes had been carried out thereafter. The petition was argued by senior counsel Navroz Seervai along with advocates Mayur Khandeparkar and Nivit Srivastava.

Opposing the plea, advocate Anil Sakhare, appearing for Patkar, and advocate Tejesh Dande, for the NMMC electoral officer, contended that Bhojane’s request could not be entertained at the scrutiny stage. They argued that Ward 17A comprises four seats, requiring voters to cast multiple votes, and any disruption would inconvenience voters and affect the election schedule.

Advocate Irfan Shaikh and Akshay Pansare, appearing for the State Election Commission, informed the court that election preparations, including the preparation of electronic voting machines with ballot papers, were already underway. He submitted that the list of contesting candidates had been scheduled for publication on January 3, 2026.

Rejecting these objections, the high court held that the nomination had been wrongly rejected and ordered its restoration, paving the way for Bhojane to contest the civic polls from Ward 17A.