Bombay HC grants interim protection to Union Minister Narayan Rane for two weeks

Narayan Rane sparked outrage last year when he said he would have slapped Thackeray for not knowing how long India has been independent.

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted Union Minister Narayan Rane interim protection from arrest on Friday for two weeks in link with the case filed against him at Dhule for his alleged comments against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. 

A division bench of Justices Prasanna Varale and SM Modak, instructed the police against taking any action against Rane. 

In multiple places across Maharashtra, cases have been registered against Rane, including Mahad, Nashik, Pune, Thane, Jalgaon, and Ahmednagar districts, for his remarks on CM Thackeray. Rane approached the High Court to dismiss the case registration in Dhule. 

Rane sparked outrage last year when he said he would have slapped Thackeray for not knowing how long India has been independent. He alleged political vendetta and vengeance for the cases filed against him.

Rane, in his plea, stated that by no stretch of the imagination could it be said that he promoted enmity between different groups or committed any act prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between other groups that disturbs or is likely to disturb public tranquillity.

An FIR against Rane in Dhule alleged his remarks were defamatory and hateful and that they could have incited rivalries and differences among communities.