Hanuman Chalisa row: No framing of charges against Navneet Rana, husband till Feb 21
The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted relief to Amravati MP Navneet Rana and her husband and Maharashtra MLA Ravi Rana in the Hanuman Chalisa row and directed the trial court to defer the hearing on the framing of charges against the couple till February 21.
The Ranas had approached the high court, challenging an order passed by a sessions judge that rejected their discharge application in a case that was registered by Mumbai Police against them following the Hanuman Chalisa row in 2022.
The FIR was registered against the duo for allegedly preventing a public servant from doing their duty 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).
It was alleged that the duo were resisting arrest and obstructing police personnel who had visited their Khar residence on April 23, 2022, after announcing that they would chant the Hanuman Chalisa outside the residence of the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
On Thursday, advocate Rizwan Merchant, appearing for the Ranas, told Justice PD Naik that Khar police had not registered any FIR when they came to arrest them. He said the police were not doing their official duty at Rana’s residence and hence, it was a false case.
Merchant said the FIR was registered only at 5:23 pm on April 24, 2022, while the Mumbai Police were at their residence before that to arrest them. He stressed that the time of arrest when the alleged incident took place was much before the time when the FIR was registered.
The advocate argued that the arrest took place before the registration of the FIR, which was registered nine minutes after the arrest.
However, Chief Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar and Additional Public Prosecutor Yogesh Dabke argued there was no infirmity in the registration of the FIR.
He pointed out that the FIR was registered at 5:03 pm and the printer which printed the FIR displayed 5:23 pm as the time of printing. The same was different on account of the technicalities involved.
The high court observed that the matter ought to be heard at length and posted it for hearing on February 21, and directed the trial court to defer the hearing on the framing of charges against the Ranas till then.
The trial court was to begin the process of framing charges against the couple on Friday.
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