The sessions court in Dhule district of Maharashtra on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Union minister Narayan Rane in a case regarding the alleged "defamatory" and "hateful" statement he had made against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in August 2021.

Rane's pre-arrest bail application was allowed by principal district judge R H Mohammad of the Dhule sessions court on a surety of Rs 15,000. The court directed Rane to appear before the police as and when called.