Mumbai court grants pre-arrest bail to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Hemant Palav over offensive comments against CM Shinde

A Mumbai court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Shiv Sena UBT leader Hemant Palav who allegedly made objectionable comments against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on social mediaAdditional Sessions Judge of a Mumbai court Dindoshi Ashish Ayachit granted prearrest bail to Palav on January 8 but the detailed order of the court was made available on Thursday newswire PTI reportedEarlier Palav had allegedly made some objectionable comments against Shinde in response to a Facebook post of a regional dailyOn a complaint by a member of the Shindeled Shiv Sena the MIDC police registered a case against Palav under Indian Penal Code IPC sections 506 criminal intimidation 153A promoting enmity and relevant sections of the Information Technology ActIn its order the court said the informant has lodged a report that the comments of the accused on the post outraged the modesty of womenldquoHaving gone through the comments and considering the facts and the nature of offence its punishment I am of the considered opinion that custodial interrogation of the applicant Palav is not at all necessary and warrantedrdquo the court saidldquoThus without expressing any opinion on the merit of the case I find that the accused deserves to be released on anticipatory bailrdquo it addedMeanwhile Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday hailed the Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekars ruling declaring his faction as the real Shiv Sena political party as a triumph for truth and democracy and defeat of autocracy dictatorship and dynasty politicsAlso read Tragedy of this mother of democracy Kapil Sibal slams Maharashtra Speaker ruling on real Shiv SenaWhile criticizing Uddhav Thackeray Shinde without explicitly mentioning him characterized the Speakers decision as a rebuke to those treating the party as a private enterpriseShinde was addressing a press conference in his home turf ThaneGiving a muchawaited ruling on the crosspetitions by Shiv Sena factions seeking disqualification of each others MLAs following a split in the party Narwekar did not disqualify any MLA from the two campsUddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT later said it will approach the Supreme Court against the speakers orderSatyameva JayateThe order of the assembly speaker on Shiv Sena is a victory of truth and democracy It is a defeat of autocracy dictatorship and dynasty politics It also proved that no political party organisation can be run like a private limited company and that nobody can take decisions as per ones whims and fancies CM Shinde saidThe order is a tight slap on the face of those who were running the party as if it was their private limited companyThis is a victory of Shiv Sainiks Balasheb Thackeray and Anand Dighes thoughts and principles CM Shinde said Dighe was Shindes mentorThis victory symbolises a decisive response to those who treated the party as their private enterprise It is a stern rebuke to them for their management of party affairs he saidIn a democratic setup the majoritys opinion holds significance and allegations should not replace the legitimate verdict he addedRunning a political party is not the same as managing a private limited company Insecurity led to this kind of behaviour and there was blatant disregard for Balasahebs teachings he said targeting Uddhav ThackerayHe also accused the opposition of making baseless allegations against the speakerOn the dismissal of the disqualification petition filed by his partys chief whip Bharat Gogawale CM Shinde expressed dissatisfaction over the reason not being mentioned in the orderThe partys legal team would study the order and determine appropriate steps he saidShinde hit out at the Thackerayled faction over the conduct of its leaders and labelled their actions as undemocratic and unbecomingHe said the undivided Shiv Sena had fought the last assembly election with the BJP but it betrayed the latter by forming an alliance with other parties People of the state will give an appropriate answer to them he said With inputs from agencies