Ex-Pune mayor faces legal action for injuring a cat

PUNE: Former Pune mayor and Rajya Sabha member Vandana Chavan is facing a court case because of a quarrel with a neighbour about his pet cats.

PUNE: Former Pune mayor and Rajya Sabha member Vandana Chavan is facing a court case because of a quarrel with a neighbour about his pet cats.

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Vijay Navdikar who resides in the same building as Chavan has accused her of injuring a cat. Both Chavan and her husband are lawyers and have been issued notices by the Pune district court regarding this case.

Speaking with HT, the former mayor said that Navdikar has seven cats at his house and that is a source of nuisance to all the residents. “We were forced to keep all the doors and windows of the house shut fearing that cats may enter from anywhere,” she said.

The residents had apparently asked the owner to ensure that the cats do not cause any trouble but the problem remained unsolved.

Navdikar approached the police two years ago to file a complaint against Chavan for having injured one of his cats.

Chavan retaliated with a cross complaint that stated that the cats were causing nuisance and spreading filth within the residential complex.

The complainant then filed a private case against the Chavans in a lower court but it ruled in Chavan’s favour.

Accordingly, Navdikar then appealed to the district court, which has served its notice to the former mayor.

Commenting on this, Chavan said, “I have no problems with people keeping pets but it is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that the pets do not cause nuisance to other people.”