National

Stay on non-bailable warrant against Raj Thackeray

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the execution of a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued by a Jharkhand court against the leader of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Raj Thackeray, for his alleged speeches defaming Biharis.

A Bench of the Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, and Justice P. Sathasivam also directed the judicial magistrate, Jamshedpur not to insist on the personal appearance of Mr. Thackeray pursuant to the issuance of the NBW.

The Bench passed this interim order on a petition from Mr. Thackeray seeking transfer of the eight cases filed against him in Bihar and Jharkhand courts to a court of competent jurisdiction in Maharashtra or any other State except Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.

The Bench issued notice to each of the complainants in these cases after senior counsel U.R. Lalit submitted that Mr. Thackeray had been summoned to appear in eight courts and NBW had been issued by one court in Jamshedpur.

The petitioner said he was facing prosecution in various courts in Jharkhand and Bihar on the very same set of allegations. The filing of the criminal complaints against him was politically motivated, backed by powerful politicians of these States to harass him for narrow political gains.

He said it was humanly impossible for him to defend the cases in the surcharged atmosphere prevailing in the two States.

He said his effigies were being burnt on a regular basis by political organisations, lawyers association and others in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh

A sustained hate campaign was being unleashed by vested interests against him for his speech made on January 31, 2008 with regard to the politicising of Chhat Puja.

A false propaganda seeking to malign him was being consistently carried out by his political opponents, he said and sought a direction to transfer the eight cases to a court outside Jharkhand and Bihar.

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