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HC dismisses defamation case against Raj Thackeray
Nagpur, Nov 21: A bench of Mumbai High Court here has quashed criminal defamation proceedings against Shiv Sena leader Raj Thackeray, in an Amravati court.
Nagpur, Nov 21: A bench of Mumbai High Court here
has quashed criminal defamation proceedings against Shiv Sena
leader Raj Thackeray, in an Amravati court.
Justice Kishore Rohee of HC bench, allowing a criminal
application filed by Raj Thackeray, Sena supremo Bal
Thackeray's nephew, dismissed the defamation proceedings
initiated against him at the behest of two office bearers of
Samajwadi Party from Amravati.
According to the complainants, Baburao Belsare and Ziya
Ahmad Mohammad Javed of Samajwadi Party, Thackeray delivered
an inflammatory speech at a public meeting held at Rajkamal
Chowk in Amravati on October 12, 1998. The contents of his
speech were published in a Hindi daily at Amravati.
They contended that his speech was aimed at disturbing
communal harmony and spoiling relations between two
communities. Both filed a criminal complaint in the chief
judicial magistrate's court.
The CJM, while rejecting first three sections, took
cognizance of offence under section 500 of IPC and accordingly
issued process. Thackeray contended that no allegations were
made out against him and challenged the locus standi of the
complainants.
Only a person alleged to have been defamed or affected by the alleged defamatory statement enjoyed the right to initiate proceedings under relevant sections, his lawyer argued.
Agreeing with the arguments advanced by Thackeray's lawyer, the bench set aside the Amravati court proceedings saying none of the top leaders against whom he had spoken in his public address had chosen to file defamation proceedings.
Bureau Report
Only a person alleged to have been defamed or affected by the alleged defamatory statement enjoyed the right to initiate proceedings under relevant sections, his lawyer argued.
Agreeing with the arguments advanced by Thackeray's lawyer, the bench set aside the Amravati court proceedings saying none of the top leaders against whom he had spoken in his public address had chosen to file defamation proceedings.
Bureau Report