Raj's appeal deferred till November 14

The hearing on a plea by the MNS chief on an arrest warrant issued against him for demeaning the Chhath Puja has been deferred by Jharkhand HC to Nov 14.

The Jharkhand High Court on Saturday deferred till November 14 the hearing on a plea by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on an arrest warrant issued against him for allegedly denigrating Chhath Puja, observed by millions in Bihar.

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A single bench of BK Sinha fixed the hearing to November 14, Thackeray's lawyer Neeraj Rai said.

Thackeray had moved Jharkhand High Court against a non-bailable arrest warrant issued by a Jamshedpur court on September 30.

Hamid Raza, a lawyer of Jamshedpur, had filed a case against Thackeray on February 2 this year. "Raj Thackeray talked nonsense about Chhath Puja on January 30 this year. He had tried to hurt the religious sentiments and his statement had caused violence against outsiders," said Raza.

The court took cognizance of the case and issued an arrest warrant against Thackeray September 30 and directed him to appear before the court on or before November 17.

The warrant issued by Jamshedpur court in Hamid Raza case reached Mumbai police commissioner Monday. Now Mumbai police have to execute the warrant.

Before hearing of the case Saturday, Lok Jansakti Party (LJP) workers including a few lawyers took out a procession near High Court requesting lawyers not to argue on behalf of Raj Thackeray. "Do not argue in court in favour of anti-national Raj Thackeray," were banners displayed by the LJP supporters.