An offence was registered against them for allegedly resisting arrest and obstructing police, who had visited their Khar residence after their announcement that they will chant the Hanuman Chalisa at the private residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in April.The Mumbai Police Wednesday filed a chargesheet against lawmaker couple Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana in connection with an offence registered against them for allegedly resisting arrest and obstructing police, who had visited their Khar residence after their announcement that they will chant the Hanuman Chalisa at the private residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in April.
This was the second FIR registered against the couple after one filed on sections including sedition. A chargesheet has not been filed so far in the case where charges of sedition were invoked against the couple and they faced an arrest as well.
The chargesheet filed before the Borivali court is under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code.
MP Navneet Rana and her husband MLA Ravi Rana were arrested on April 23 after their announcement to chant Hanuman Chalisa at the CM’s private residence, Matoshree. While the couple had submitted that their announcement was to enlist public support and that they had withdrawn it, the Mumbai police had said that their intention was to cause public disorder and challenge law and order in the state to an extent that dissolution of the present government could be recommended.
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A special court had granted them bail on May 4 stating that “decisive ingredients of Section 124A (sedition) of the IPC are not made out at this stage”.
A second FIR was filed against them on April 24. The couple had approached the Bombay High Court through their lawyer Rizwan Merchant to quash this FIR claiming that the relevant sections could have been added to the earlier FIR. Special public prosecutor Pradip Gharat had opposed their plea stating that the two incidents were different. He had submitted that when police officers had repeatedly requested the couple to withdraw their announcement citing security concerns it raised, they “were not in a mood to hear” them and instead in “a passionate manner” the couple “flatly refused to cooperate with the police officers”. The couple also argued with the officers and when they requested the petitioners to enter the police vehicle, they threatened officers, it was submitted.
The Bombay High Court had dismissed their petition to quash the second FIR stating that it was “devoid of merits”. On Wednesday, the couple was not present before the court as their exemption application was allowed.
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