Mumbai Court Summons Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Raut In Defamation Case By Shinde Faction MP Rahul Shewale

A Metropolitan Magistrates Court in Mumbai has issued process and summoned Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut in a defamation complaint filed by Rahul Shewale from the breakaway Sena faction.

The complaint was filed over an article published in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana.’ While Thackeray is the Chief Editor, Raut is the Executive Editor.

Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Sewree SB Kale issued the summons on Monday and directed Thackeray – Maharashtra’s former Chief Minister and MP Raut to remain present on July 14.

Shewale is an MP from the Mumbai’s south-central constituency from the rebel Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

He filed the complaint for offences punishable under sections 500 (punishment for defamation) and 501 (printing or engraving matter knowing it to be defamatory) of the IPC for publishing 'defamatory articles' against him in the Marathi and Hindi editions of 'Saamana'.

In the complaint, filed through advocate Chitra Salunke, Shewale alleged that the article from December 29, 2022 wrongly stated he had a real estate business in Karachi.

Initially the magistrate directed a police investigation into the complaint under section 202 of the CrPC. Following this summons were issued under section 204 of the CrPC.

"The complainant strongly refuted all the allegations made in the said articles and categorically stated that this is merely a feeble attempt to damage the reputation and political career of the complainant by levelling false accusations against him to malign his image before the public at large," the complaint read.The articles were a "concocted story, "devoid of any merits" and a classic example of "vendetta journalism", it added.