1 CGHC010346372026 2026:CGHC:39908 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 4582 of 2026 1 - Nitin Sinha S/o Shailendra Kumar Sinha Aged About 39 Years Occupation Manager Officer, Bank Of India, R/o S-20, Sector-1 Extension Awanti Vihar, Telibhandha, Ravigram, District- Raipur, (C.G.) ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - Bank Of India Officers Association, Madhaya Pradesh And Chhattisgarh Unit, Through Its Competent Authority/ General Secretary, Address Arera Hills, Bhopal, (Madhya Pradesh) 2 - Shri Vaibhav Jain, Chief Manager, Bank Of India, Zonal Office, Bhopal, Election Commissioner/ Returning Officer Triennial Election 2026-2029, Arera Hills, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Zonal Office, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 3 - Shri Pragyan Jha Member, Election Commission Consitituted For Assisting The Election Commissioner In The Triennial Election Of Bank Of India Officers Association, Madhya Pradesh And Chhattisgarh, Unit Address Arera Hills, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Zonal Office, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh RUCHI YADAV Digitally signed by RUCHI YADAV 2 4 - Shri Kuldip Swarnakar Former Assistant General Secretary (A G S), Bank Of India Officers Association, Madhya Pradesh And Chhattisgarh Unit, Address Arera Hills, Bhopal, Distt. Bhopal (M.P.) 5 - Bank Of India, Through Its Competent Authority, Former Joint General Secretary, Head Office/ Zonal Office, Address- Tatibandh Raipur, District- Raipur, (C.G.) ... Respondent(s) ( Cause title taken from CIS Periphery) For Petitioner(s) : None For Respondent No.1 : Mr. Anand Shukla, Advocate SB: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 11/09/2026 1. By way of this petition, the petitioner has prayed for following reliefs:- “10.1 issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, particularly a writ of certiorari, quashing and setting aside the impugned whereby order/action dated the 22.08.2026, nomination/candidature of the Petitioner for the triennial election of the Executive Committee of the Bank of India Officers Association, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Unit, has been rejected/omitted without assigning any reason. 10.2 issue an appropriate writ, order or direction commanding the accept to and the reconsider Respondents nomination/candidature of the Petitioner in accordance with the applicable bye-laws/rules and to include the name of the 3 Petitioner in the final list of validly nominated candidates, subject to his eligibility under the applicable election rules. 10.3 issue an appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Respondents to produce before this Hon'ble Court the complete election record, including the nomination form submitted by the Petitioner, scrutiny notes/proceedings dated 21.08.2026, reasons for rejection/omission of the Petitioner's nomination, complete list of valid nominations and the applicable bye-laws/rules governing the election. 10.4 issue an appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Respondents to disclose and produce the specific bye-law/rule under which Shri Pragyan Jha, stated to be a member of the Election Commission assisting the Election Commissioner, has been permitted to contest the same election. 10.5 That upon examination of the applicable bye-laws/rules and election record, declare the candidature of Shri Pragyan Jha as invalid/disqualified, if found contrary to the applicable bye-laws/rules, and consequently direct the Respondents to reject/cancel his candidature. 10.6 issue an appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Respondents to conduct the triennial election strictly in accordance with the applicable bye-laws/rules, after ensuring a fair, transparent and impartial scrutiny of all nominations and after considering the Petitioner's candidature in accordance with law. 10.7 That pending final disposal of the present writ petition, be pleased to stay the election proceedings/election scheduled to 4 be held on 08.09.2026, including voting, counting, declaration and publication of the election results, and restrain the Respondents from taking any further steps pursuant to the impugned nomination process and pending final adjudication of the present writ petition, be pleased to keep the candidature of Shri Pragyan Jha in abeyance and restrain him from participating in the election process as a candidate, subject to the determination of his eligibility under the applicable bye-laws/rules. 10.8 pass any other order, direction or relief which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice. An affidavit in support is filed herewith.” 2. None appeared on behalf of the petitioner in the second round. However, in the first round, learned counsel for the petitioner Mr. Syed Ishhadil Ali had appeared and respondent No.1 was directed to place on record the relevant documents. Pursuant to the said direction, respondent No.1 has filed the relevant documents. 3. From perusal of the documents placed on record, it appears that the petitioner had also contested the election for the post of Joint General Secretary of the Bank of India Officers Association, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Unit. However, his nomination has already been rejected and, therefore, he is no longer a candidate in the said election. 4. Learned counsel appearing for respondent No.1 submits that there were only two posts of Joint General Secretary and, as there were no other candidates for the said posts, Shri Prakash Singh Chouhan and 5 Shri Nitin Vatwani have been elected unopposed. It is, therefore, submitted that the petitioner has no subsisting locus to challenge the election in respect of the said posts. 5. Learned counsel further submits that insofar as the objection raised by the petitioner regarding respondent No.3, Shri Pragyan Jha, is concerned, the same has also been rendered infructuous. It is submitted that respondent No.3, who was earlier a member of the Election Commission, has tendered his resignation from the Election Commission, which has been duly accepted by the competent authority. After tendering his resignation, respondent No.3 is now contesting the ensuing election of the Association for the post of Executive Committee Member. Therefore, according to learned counsel, no cause survives for consideration in the present petition and no effective relief can be granted to the petitioner. 6. Having considered the submissions made by learned counsel for respondent No.1 and upon perusal of the documents placed on record, this Court finds that the petitioner's nomination for the post of Joint General Secretary had already been rejected and, consequently, he is no longer a candidate for the said post. Further, the two posts of Joint General Secretary have already been filled by Shri Prakash Singh Chouhan and Shri Nitin Vatwani, who have been elected unopposed. 7. So far as the challenge to the candidature of respondent No.3, Shri Pragyan Jha, is concerned, the material on record shows that he has already resigned from the Election Commission and his resignation has been accepted by the competent authority. Thereafter, he is contesting the election for the post of Executive Committee Member. Thus, the 6 grievance raised by the petitioner in this regard does not survive for consideration. 8. In view of the aforesaid circumstances, no effective relief can be granted to the petitioner. The petition, being devoid of merit and having been rendered infructuous to the aforesaid extent, is accordingly dismissed. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge Ruchi