High Court directs Election Commission to decide complaint on Sunil Tatkare's appointment in four months

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the Election Commission to decide within four months a complaint filed over the appointment of Sunil Tatkare as state president of the Nationalist Congress Party. The order was passed by a bench of Justice Nitin Suryawanshi and Justice Abasaheb Shinde.

The petition was filed by Bhausaheb Gore, president of the Partur-Mantha assembly constituency in Jalna district, through advocate Rajendra Dasalkar. It claims that the election process laid down in the party's constitution was not followed when Tatkare was appointed.

Gore had submitted a detailed complaint to the Election Commission of India on August 8, 2026. The bench had asked the Commission what action had been taken on the complaint so far and directed it to submit a report.

During the hearing, advocate Alok Sharma, appearing for the Commission, told the court that, as per the Commission's instructions, the petitioner's complaint would be decided within four months. After this assurance, the bench issued the directions and disposed of the petition. The Commission must now decide the complaint within the stipulated time. The Commission alone will take the final decision on the allegations about the appointment process.

Gore alleges that the declaration of Sunil Tatkare as Maharashtra state president of the Nationalist Congress Party on July 3, 2023 was entirely unilateral. He claims that under the party constitution, members of the state committee must choose the president through a transparent and democratic organisational election. According to him, Tatkare was appointed without any election.

These are all allegations and claims made by the petitioner. The Election Commission now has to decide on them, and the court has set a four-month period for it.