Mumbai, July 14, 2026: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed journalists Anil Singh, Madhu Nainan and O.P. Tiwari to contest elections for the Mumbai Press Club while hearing their suit challenging the rejection of their nomination forms.
Court Permits Amendment
Justice Arif Doctor allowed them to amend their application to add the names of other members whose nomination forms were rejected after they contended that relief should extend not only to the plaintiffs but also to others whose election nominations were allegedly rejected.
During the hearing, counsel for Defendant No. 3 stated that the interim application could be allowed in terms of the prayer clause insofar as the plaintiffs were concerned.
However, Senior Advocate Aspi Chinoy, appearing for the plaintiffs, pointed out that the plaint sought relief not only for the plaintiffs but also for others whose nominations had been rejected.
Chinoy submitted that as many as 58 nominations, including those of the plaintiffs, had been wrongly rejected and sought permission to amend the prayer clauses of the interim application.
As there was no opposition from the defendants, the court permitted the amendment to the application and posted the matter for further hearing on July 15.
No Interim Relief In Separate Case
In a separate matter, another Bench of the High Court refused to grant interim relief to journalist Gurbir Singh, who challenged the Mumbai Press Club's decision to expel him from its membership for six years over a meeting held at the club involving accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Justice Prafulla Khubalkar, in an order passed on July 8, rejected Singh's plea to stay the club's show-cause notice, inquiry report and managing committee resolution, holding that there was no reason to interfere with the trial court's earlier refusal to grant an injunction.
The controversy arose after a meeting at the Mumbai Press Club on January 19, 2026, allegedly organised by Singh and two other members, where four accused in the Bhima Koregaon case were present.
The club held that the gathering facilitated a meeting between the accused, allegedly resulting in a breach of their bail conditions and bringing disrepute to the club. Following an inquiry, Singh and the two other members were expelled for six years.
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Before the High Court, Singh argued that the disciplinary proceedings violated the club's bye-laws and the principles of natural justice as he was not supplied with the documents he had sought. Rejecting the contention, the court held that there had been "substantial compliance with the principles of natural justice".
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