E-Paper
No coercive action against Narayan Rane: Maharashtra assures Bombay HC
Narayan Rane’s petition said the charges against him entail punishment under seven years and hence he should have been given a notice before his arrest as per the law. But he added it was not done
The Bombay high court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of Narayan Rane’s plea for quashing cases filed against him over his comments about slapping chief minister Uddhav Thackeray after the Maharashtra government said no coercive action will be taken against the Union minister related to the First Information Report (FIR) filed against him in Nashik.
A division bench of justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar granted an urgent hearing of the petition.
Senior advocate Amit Desai, who appeared for the Maharashtra government, said the state would not take any coercive action against Rane in connection with the FIR registered in Nashik as no further offence was committed.
Rane’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, told the bench that the judicial magistrate at Mahad, who granted bail to Rane after he was arrested on Tuesday, has cautioned his client against making further comments.
The Nashik Cyber Police booked Rane including under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 500 (defamation), 153 (b) (1) (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), and the Information Technology Act. More cases were filed against him in Pune and Mahad.
Also Read | The tale of a threat, an arrest, and an old and new rivalry
Rane’s petition said the charges against him entail punishment under seven years and hence he should have been given a notice before his arrest as per the law. But he added it was not done.
Rane was arrested from Sangameshwar on Tuesday while he had stopped for lunch. While the police were about to arrest Rane, an anticipatory bail application was moved before the Ratnagiri sessions court, but it was rejected. Rane was taken to Mahad, where he was produced before the magistrate, who granted him bail.
The high court registry on Tuesday refused to admit Rane’s petition for quashing cases against him without original FIR copies. The petition was filed on Wednesday along with the copies.
Desai informed the bench he received the papers only an hour before the hearing and he was not aware of the sections under which the petitioner was booked in Nashik. He assured the court that no coercive action would be taken against Rane in this case.
Maneshinde submitted they fear Rane could be arrested in connection with other FIRs and sought protection from arrest till the next hearing in connection with all cases on September 17.
