HC seeks state’s response to plea seeking FIR against Raj Thackeray for ‘hate speech’

The PIL, filed by advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay in July 2025, claimed that Thackeray and his party workers had been indulging in mob violence against immigrants from other states in Maharashtra since 2005.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to respond to a plea seeking the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and the de-registration of his party over alleged hate speeches and violence against the Hindi-speaking community.

Mumbai, India – 30, Oct 2025: MNS President Raj Thackeray addressing Rally to MNS party supporters, Rangsharda Auditorium, Bandra, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, Oct 30, 2025. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

A division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Ankhad asked the state government and the ECI to file their responses to the plea in four weeks. It also directed the petitioner to remove words like “north Indians” and “south Indians” from the copy. “Adding ‘hate speech’ is enough. It is not necessary to add other adjectives to it,” the bench said.

The public interest litigation, filed by advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay in July 2025, claimed that Thackeray and his party workers had been indulging in mob violence against immigrants from other states in Maharashtra since 2005. Such gimmicks, the petition added, typically intensify ahead of elections.

The petition referred to the joint rally held by cousins Raj and Uddhav Thackeray on July 5, organised to celebrate the Maharashtra government’s decision to withdraw its order making Hindi a compulsory third language in primary schools. During the rally, Raj Thackeray suggested that those who do not speak Marathi should be “hit below their eardrums”, the petition said.

Ever since the controversy over the state’s proposed three-language policy erupted earlier this year, MNS workers have been involved in multiple incidents of assault and harassment against individuals, particularly Hindi-speaking migrants, for not speaking Marathi.

“At [Raj’s] instance, his goons/political workers have been beating, assaulting and lynching people belonging to states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. They have even been destroying their business establishments and shops. Raj Thackeray publicly proclaimed that these are just trailers and if Hindi is not stopped, his people would definitely hit the Hindi-speaking people (sic),” the petition said.

The petition added that Thackeray’s love for Marathi is seasonal. “He thinks that by invoking Marathi pride, he and Uddhav Thackeray could do wonders by consolidating Marathi votes and winning the Mumbai municipal corporation elections,” it said.