MUMBAI, Jan. 10 -- 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). 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 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 NOC 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. Following the announcement of election dates and the filing of nominations, Bhojane claimed that Kishor Patkar, a Shiv Sena candidate from Ward 17A, lodged a complaint alleging illegal construction at the plot. 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. The HC held that the nomination had been wrongly rejected....