The articles published in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Samna post-BMC election victory against the State Revenue Minister Narayan Rane has invited trouble for the leading Marathi daily.
The Bombay High Court on Monday restrained Samna from publishing any defamatory article against Rane following a petition filed by him. Rane approached the High Court through petition against Sanjay Raut, the editor of the newspaper after the paper allegedly wrote defamatory articles and headlines about Rane.
Rane has claimed Rs 25 crores damages for tarnishing and causing damage to his reputation by publishing derogatory articles. On the last hearing, the court had directed the editor to file his reply affidavit by February 12. However Raut failed to do so.
Justice DK Deshmukh remarked that this was making a mockery of the court and such things cannot be tolerated. “Not filing a reply is the violation of court orders, which will not be tolerated,” said Justice Deshmukh.
When the advocate appearing for the paper requested for more time to file the affidavit, the court remarked that more time will be given if the paper deposits Rs 25 crores in the court. However, the court granted the paper three week's time to file their reply affidavit. The court has restrained the paper from publishing further defamatory articles about Rane till then. The matter will be next heard on March 20.