Bombay HC directs Sangli court to hear Raj Thackeray's plea

March 23, 2023 21:31

The Bombay high court on Thursday quashed an order of a court in Sangli district which had rejected the discharge application of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray in a 2008 case related to a protest organised by his party's workers.

A single judge bench of Justice Amit Borkar directed the sessions court at Islampur in Sangli district in southeast Maharashtra to hear the discharge application afresh.

The MNS chief was arrested on October 21, 2008, in Ratnagiri district in connection with an agitation launched by his party against north Indians residing in Maharashtra.

The regional party had claimed north Indians deprived the "sons of the soil" from getting employment in the state.

Following Thackeray's arrest, riots broke out in Mumbai, Jalgaon, Aurangabad and various other parts of the state.

Several cases were registered against the 54-year-old MNS leader and his supporters.

One such FIR (first information report) was registered in Sangli district for unlawful assembly and breach of peace, and Thackeray had filed a discharge application in 2013 before a magistrate's court there.

The magistrate's court had rejected the application and summoned Thackeray to appear before it for framing of charges.

The MNS president then moved the sessions court which also turned down his review application seeking discharge from the case.

Thackeray challenged the order in the HC, saying there was lack of proper reasoning in the sessions court order rejecting his discharge application.

The HC, accepting his contention, set aside the sessions court order.

Discharge is a pre-trial stage that comes after a chargesheet has been filed in a case, but before charges are framed by the court concerned against an accused.

Under this legal remedy, an accused is entitled to be discharged from a case if the evidence provided to the court is not sufficient to prove the offence.

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