PIL challenges rejection of nomination forms for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections

The Hindu
The Hindu
3h ago
A PIL in the Bombay High Court challenges what it calls a mass, malafide rejection of nomination forms for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections and seeks restoration of nominations rejected on non-statutory grounds.
PIL challenges rejection of nomination forms for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections
A What happened
Mozam Ali Mir filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court alleging Returning Officers across Wards 1 to 227 rejected BMC election nominations on grounds not in the State Election Commission checklist, including affidavit format issues, question-answer sheet defects, and missing NOCs. The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad and kept for hearing on January 9, 2026. The petition seeks directions to the SEC to call for scrutiny records, quash specified rejections, restore nomination papers, and treat certain defects as curable. SEC data annexed to the petition says 11,391 forms were distributed and 2,516 were received, with ward-level figures cited for Ward 23 and K West (Ward 7).

Key insights

  • 1

    Claim of non-statutory nomination requirements: The petition argues that demands for NOCs and other documents not listed in SEC notifications cannot be used to reject nominations.

  • 2

    Claim that certain defects are curable: The petition seeks a declaration that affidavit format and question-answer sheet issues are curable defects and should not lead to rejection.

  • 3

    Claim of SEC’s exclusive control over elections: The petition argues that only the State Election Commission controls election conditions and municipal bodies cannot impose extra conditions.

Takeaways

The Bombay High Court is set to hear a PIL seeking to overturn BMC nomination rejections allegedly made on non-statutory grounds and to restore affected candidates to the election process.

Topics

World & Politics Elections Governance Law & Public Safety Courts

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