Defamation case: Pleas of Raut, Thackeray for condonation of delay allowed

Mumbai: A special court in Mumbai allowed the pleas of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut for condonation of delay in filing a review application against a magistrate's order in a defamation case by former Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale.

RN Rokade, special judge for cases against MP/MLAs, on Thursday allowed the pleas at a cost of Rs 2,000, which must be paid to Shewale within 10 days from the date of the order.

The special judge said it is well settled that while deciding the condonation of delay application "the approach of the court should be liberal".

"It is contextually relevant to note that if the delay caused in filing the revision is not condoned, the very purpose of filing the revision would get defeated," the order, details of which were made available on Friday, stated.

Advocate Chitra Salunke, appearing for Shewale, had given 'no objection' to the condonation plea of Thackeray and Raut.

"It is seen from the explanation given by the petitioners that the delay is not an intentional one. There is no counter version which competes in probability with that of the petitioners," the court said and then allowed the application observing the Sena (UBT) leaders have shown sufficient cause for condonation of delay.

Shewale, who belongs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, has sought action against the two leaders under Indian Penal Code section 500 (punishment for defamation) for publishing `defamatory articles' against him in the Marathi and Hindi editions of 'Saamana'.

Shewale has taken objection to the articles published on December 29, 2022 which claimed he had hotel and real estate business in Karachi in Pakistan. These articles were "concocted" and "devoid of merits" and were a "classic example of vendetta journalism," Shewale has claimed.

Raut and Thackeray had filed a discharge application before a magistrate court claiming innocence, which was rejected in October last year.

The duo then filed a review application before the special court against the magistrate's order. The special court, after allowing the condonation of delay plea on Thursday, directed the Registrar (of sessions court ) to register their criminal revision petition as per the law on payment of costs.