Mandsaur court issues notices to Thackeray, MNS legislators

A Mandsaur court on Wednesday took cognizance of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) attack on SP MLA Abu Asim Azmi as an effort to promote enmity between different groups on basis of language and prejudicial to national integration.

A Mandsaur court on Wednesday took cognizance of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) attack on SP MLA Abu Asim Azmi as an effort to promote enmity between different groups on basis of language and prejudicial to national integration.

Chief Judicial Magistrate R R Badodiya of Mandsaur court, around 160 km from here, issued notices to MNS Chief Raj Thakrey, and four suspended party MLAs -- Shishir Shinde, Ramesh Wanjale, Vasant Gite and Ram Kadam – asking them to appear before his court for hearing into a petition that described the MNS attack on Azmi as gross insult to the national language (Hindi) and attack on national integrity.

The petitioner, Pukhraj Dashora, claimed that he was hurt by the news reports of MNS MLAs attacking Azmi after the latter decided to take oath of secrecy in Hindi.

The petition was maintainable under Section 179 of CrPC, which allowed it to be heard at the place of crime or at the place of impact of the crime, the Judge observed.

Since the actions of MNS MLAs in Maharashtra Assembly have had its effect on the entire nation, including Mandsaur, the court has the right to hear the case, he said.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate took cognizance of the MNS’s actions under IPC sections 153 (a) - promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony – and 153 (b) - imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration.

The court directed that the notices should be served through the Maharashtra assembly speaker and the respondents should be present before him on December 14.