Thane, Feb 16 A court in Thane district on Monday allowed arrested corporator Vilas Raghunath Patil to be escorted by police to file his nomination papers for the upcoming mayoral elections of Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC).
A BNMC release said nine candidates, including Patil, filed nominations for the post of mayor, while six candidates filed papers for the deputy mayor's post. The elections for these two posts will be held on February 20.
Patil, a former mayor, was arrested by Economic Offences Wing of Thane police last week for his alleged involvement in a 2025 financial fraud case. He is accused of cheating people on the pretext of providing them houses. A case was registered against him at Nizampura police station and he was remanded in four-day police custody at the time.
An order passed by Judicial Magistrate First Class (Court No. 5), Bhiwandi, permitted Patil to step out of custody between 3 pm and 5 pm on Monday for the sole purpose of filing his nomination form at the office of the BNMC municipal secretary.
Advocate Narayan Iyer told reporters that his client Patil, in his application, submitted that the election process for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor had commenced and that the time window for filing nominations was limited to two hours.
Patil, in his plea, contended that the right to contest elections is a constitutional right and denial of permission would permanently disqualify him from the electoral process, Iyer said.
The investigating officer in the case filed a reply stating that Patil is a politically influential person and there exists a possibility of him pressuring the informant or other witnesses if granted movement outside custody.
The IO, however, suggested that it may be allowed subject to strict conditions. The Assistant Public Prosecutor also submitted that permission could be granted in accordance with law and appropriate safeguards.
After hearing both sides, the court observed that the right to contest elections "is the constitutional right of every person which cannot be denied" and allowed the application with stringent conditions.
The court directed that Patil shall not interact with anyone outside the premises of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Thane, shall not use any phone or communication device, and shall not address or engage with the media.
He has also been asked to bear the expenses of the police escort and surrender immediately after filing the nomination. The court also directed the mayoral poll presiding officer to ensure compliance with the conditions.
In the recent election to the 90-member Bhiwandi-Nizampur civic body, the Congress emerged as the single-largest party with 30 seats, followed by the BJP (22), Shiv Sena (12), 12 by NCP (SP), Samajwadi Party (6), Patil’s KVA (4), and Bhiwandi Vikas Aghadi (3). One Independent candidate also won.
