Lucknow Press
Mumbai: Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and his party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut had to pay a fine of 2 thousand rupees for court action in a defamation case, but they have not been able to pay it. After which they have asked for 2 more days from the court. It has been said on their behalf that the court officials did not accept the cash, so they could not deposit the fine amount.
First of all, know what is the matter
An article published in Saamana on 29 December 2022 in both Hindi and Marathi versions claimed that former Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale has real estate investments in Dubai and Karachi. After which Shewale’s lawyer, Chitra Salunkhe, sent a notice to Saamana on January 3, 2023 and sought clarification about these allegations.
In response, the ‘Saamana’ editorial team argued that their article was inspired by information found online, in which a woman was allegedly discussing these matters. Following this, Salunkhe filed a criminal defamation complaint in the magistrate court and also filed a defamation suit of Rs 100 crore in the Bombay High Court.
In this case, Raut and Thackeray had filed a discharge petition in the magistrate court, claiming themselves innocent, which was rejected in October last year. According to the rules, both of them should have challenged the order of the magistrate court immediately, which they did not do. There was a delay of 84 days from the outer time limit prescribed under the rules for filing the revision. Thus, condoning the delay, the sessions court imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on them on June 13.
What did Thackeray tell the court
According to the media report, Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut said that they received the order on June 14 and the court’s cash counter, where the money was to be deposited, was closed for the next two days. He said that they tried their best in the next few days but the formalities to complete the process could not be completed and after the 10-day period passed, the officials present at the cash counter refused to take the money.
However, advocate Chitra Salunkhe, appearing for Shewale, opposed this new application seeking two days’ time, saying that due to their indifferent attitude the cash deposit process could not be completed. Salunkhe also alleged that this is only a delaying strategy on the part of Thackeray and Raut. Now the Special Court will continue hearing arguments in this case on July 31.
