Hanuman Chalisa row: MP Navneet Rana, MLA husband Ravi get bail in sedition case

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, May 04, 2022: Maharashtra MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana have been granted bail in the sedition case lodged against them for allegedly "trying to incite communal violence by reciting Hanuman Chalisa in front of CM Uddhav Thackeray’s house".

 

The bail was granted over bonds of Rs 50,000 each with one or more surety of the same amount. The court warned the couple against tampering with evidence and committing a similar offence. It also forbade the Ranas from speaking to the media about the case. Breach of these conditions will lead to the cancellation of the bail.

Initially, Mumbai court on Sunday had sent MP Navneet Rana and her husband MLA Ravi Rana to judicial custody till May 6. The couple was arrested on April 23 for allegedly "creating enmity between different groups" over their threats to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s home.

Apart from sedition, they were charged under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to ’promoting enmity among different groups’, ’criminal act by a group with common intention, ’disobeying orders to maintain law and order’ and ’assault to deter a public servant from discharging duty’.

The Ranas have been directed to cooperate with the investigation. If the police call, they have to present themselves. The court has asked the investigating officer to give 24 hours’ notice before asking the Ranas to present themselves.

Earlier, Navneet Rana had said that the police were apathetic towards her medical condition. She said that she was suffering from spondylosis but was forced to sit and lie on the ground for hours.

Courtesy: India Today