Raj Thackeray: No reprieve

Jamshedpur, Nov. 17: There is no breather for Raj Thackeray yet.

A local court today rejected the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief’s petition seeking exemption from personal appearance.

A non-bailable arrest warrant had been issued against Thackeray on September 30 after he repeatedly failed to appear before the Jamshedpur court. The warrant had directed the police to produce him in court on November 17.

The Mumbai police arrested the MNS chief from his residence at Shivaji Park on Saturday and produced him at the Mazgaon sessions court in south Mumbai. Thackeray got bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000.

His counsel R.K. Singh said that the MNS leader had pleaded exemption from personal appearance in the Jamshedpur court because he had been granted bail by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate of Mazgaon. However, the court of first-class judicial magistrate A.K. Tiwari turned down the plea because the petitioner failed to provide a certified copy of the bail order passed by the court in Maharashtra.

“Raj Thackeray was granted bail on Saturday and it was not possible to produce the certified copy of the order today. The court has agreed to our argument and has given us time to do the same,” Singh said.

Objecting to the MNS chief’s remark on Chhath, city-based lawyer Hamid Raza had filed a case against him in June this year. Raza had claimed that Thackeray’s words had hurt the sentiments of people living in Bihar and Jharkhand, and filed the case under Sections 298 and 153 of the IPC. “Chhath is one of the largest celebrated festivals in this region. Thackeray’s statement was aimed at dividing the society. It could have instigated violence,” he had contended.

On today’s hearing, Raza said: “We have challenged the claim of Thackeray’s lawyer that he has been granted bail in Mumbai. The court heard our arguments and sought clarifications on the bail order.”

The next hearing in the case is slated for December 1.