Narayan Rane remark against Uddhav Thackeray not expected from Union Minister, but is not criminal intimidation: Raigad court

A chief judicial magistrate at Raigad, Maharashtra on Monday discharged Union Minister Narayan Rane in a case registered against him for allegedly making derogatory statements against former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray..Controversy erupted in August 2021 when Rane said that he would have slapped Thackeray for “not knowing how many years it has been since India gained Independence”.Magistrate SW Ugale noted that the alleged threat by Rane was not a concrete or immediate threat in the form of criminal initimidation.“Threat under the guise of If and then do not fall under this section. The threat should really mean and should be immediate. I will slap him or am going to slap him may be considered as immediate threat and falls under the terminology of ‘Criminal intimidation” but not the so called threat in the form of if and then. The statement made by the accused can be said as controversial and politically insensitive which is not expected from a person who holds post of Union Minister," the order said..However, the court frowned upon the unparliamentary language used by Rane."The statement made by the accused can be said as controversial and politically insensitive which is not expected from a person who holds post of Union Minister," the court noted..Rane was booked in multiple cases under Sections 153A(2) (promoting enmity causing disharmony in society), 500 (defamation) and 505(2) (inciting violence) of the Indian Penal Code.The magistrate found that the statement uttered by Rane did not seem to be against any caste, religion or racial groups. The court also noted that neither had the complainant been insulted by Rane, nor had he been provoked to breach public peace.The judge concluded that the material and evidence on record failed to disclose the existence of ingredients constituting the offence. “Hence the charges against the accused are found groundless and (Rane) is entitled for discharge of the offence,” the court held. .The Raigad magistrate had granted bail to Rane in August 2021, noting that while the arrest was justified, no custody was required.Rane has also approached the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the multiple FIRs against him.The High Court, however, refused to grant urgent hearing in that plea and directed Rane's lawyer to follow the procedure for urgent mentioning..[Read order]