Justice SM Modak was presiding over the petition filed by the Ranas, seeking discharge in a case registered by the Mumbai police following the Hanuman Chalisa incident in 2022.
Mumbai, Maharashtra: On Tuesday (25th June): The Bombay High Court warned former MP and BJP leader Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana that if they sought any further adjournments for the hearing of their plea, they would incur costs. The court emphasized that this was their “last chance” to ensure their plea seeking revision is heard.
READ ALSO: Hanuman Chalisa Row| Navneet Rana Fails to Appear in Court
Justice SM Modak was presiding over the petition filed by the Ranas, seeking discharge in a case registered by the Mumbai police following the Hanuman Chalisa incident in 2022.
The Ranas were charged under sections 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after allegedly resisting arrest and obstructing police personnel on April 23, 2022. The police had visited their Khar residence after their announcement to chant the Hanuman Chalisa outside the residence of the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Although a case was registered regarding the Hanuman Chalisa incident, the Mumbai police have not filed a chargesheet against the Ranas. They were arrested and spent about a month in jail in 2022.
Their application for discharge from the case was previously rejected by special Sessions judge RN Rokde, and the court is set to frame charges, initiating the trial against them.
In their plea to the high court, the Ranas argued that the allegations were false, the FIR was delayed, and the investigation was biased. They claimed that the police had not registered any FIR when they came to arrest them, and therefore, were not performing official duties at their residence.
On January 18, the high court granted them relief and directed the trial court to defer the hearing and framing of charges until the next date. However, the plea was not heard on February 21 due to lack of time. It was supposed to be listed on April 3, but wasn’t.
On April 18, the Ranas’ lawyer requested an extension of the relief, which was granted until May 8. Yet, the plea was again not listed on May 8, leading their lawyers to seek another extension on May 9.
Justice Modak noted some laxity on the Ranas’ part, as the matter was not listed twice, and extensions were sought belatedly. He extended interim relief by exception and warned that if the revision was not argued soon, further interim protection would not be granted.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court| Direction On the Caste Certificate Procedure in Navneet Kaur Rana’s Case
On Tuesday, when the plea came up for hearing, the Ranas’ counsel was unavailable due to illness, and a junior lawyer sought an adjournment and extension of relief. Consequently, the bench declared this as the last chance for the Ranas to get their petition heard and adjourned the hearing for four weeks.
