56-WP-1172-2026 (C).doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIRCUIT BENCH AT KOLHAPUR CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 1172 OF 2026 Sujit Sudhir Biswas ...Petitioner Versus The State Of Maharashtra ...Respondent ….. Adv. Mahesh Rawool a/w Adv. Neeraj Lavte, Advocate for Petitioner. Mr. P. V. Nelson Rajan, AGP for the Respondents-State. ….. CORAM : SHAILESH P. BRAHME, J. DATE : 28th AUGUST, 2026. P.C. : The grievance of the petitioner is that the action taken against him for surrendering his firearm licence, communicated on 21.11.2025, is bad in law and contrary to the norms laid down by the Election Commission as well as the judgment of the Division Bench rendered in the case of Govind @ Bhai Ganesh Tilve Versus Vikram Kumar, District Magistrate; State of Maharashtra, Election Commission represented by Union of India1. It is contended that the communication dated 21.11.2025 amounts to an order, as it was preceded by an exchange of show-cause notice and reply by the petitioner. It is submitted that the petitioner is exempted from surrendering the firearm licence, as no 1 2009 LawSuit(Bom)872. ZIP 1 of 2 56-WP-1172-2026 (C).doc offence is registered against him, and he has to undergo the rigmarole of surrendering the firearm and taking it back. 2. The learned AGP for the respondent-State submits that the petition has become infructuous because the elections have already been conducted. The authorities have followed the due procedure of law. Hence, the apprehension of the petitioner is misplaced. 3. The order under challenge shows that, for the election of Nagar Parishad and Nagar Panchayat, which was held in December 2025, the petitioner was called upon to surrender the firearm. That exigency is over. It would be purely academic to examine the validity of the order. There is no point in adjudicating anything in the writ petition as it has become infructuous. However, it is made clear that the law laid down by the Division Bench, the norms of the Election Commission, or the rules laid down by the competent authority need to be followed by the stakeholders. The parties are governed by the rule of law, which must be exhibited. The writ petition is disposed of. [ SHAILESH P. BRAHME, J.] ZIP 2 of 2