India, July 5 -- In a major relief to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging his election from the Nagpur South-West constituency in the 2024 assembly polls.

The plea, filed by senior Congress leader and former Nagpur civic opposition leader Prafulla Vinodrao Gudadhe, had alleged electoral malpractices and procedural irregularities. Gudadhe, a longtime political rival of Fadnavis, lost to him by 39,710 votes in the last election.

However, the court - presided over by Justice Praveen Patil - rejected the petition on technical grounds, holding that Gudadhe was not physically present at the time of filing, a mandatory requirement under election laws...