Ranas get bail, BMC visits house for inspection
MUMBAI: A sessions court in Mumbai on Wednesday granted bail to independent MP Navneet Rana and her Mla-husband Ravi Rana, who were arrested on charges of sedition and promoting enmity after announcing that they will recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence last month.
The couple, however, will be released on Thursday after formalities pertaining to their bail are completed, their counsel Rizwan Merchant said.
Additional sessions judge R N Rokade granted the bail to the
couple on furnishing a personal bond of ₹50,000 each and with one or two sureties in the same amount. The court also directed the couple not to commit a similar offence while on bail, and not address the Press on any subject related to the matter.
“By the time the documents reached the concerned magistrate court in Borivali, the court timing was over. Hence, the remaining process will be completed on Thursday morning,” Merchant, said. While Navneet is lodged in Byculla women’s prison, Ravi is in Taloja jail.
On April 23, Amravati MP Navneet and Ravi, independent MLA from Badnera assembly in the district, were arrested by Khar Police under sections 124-A (sedition), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 34 (common intention) of IPC for their insistence on chanting the Hanuman Chalisa outside Thackeray’s residence, “to remind the Shiv Sena leader of his Hindutva roots”.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said: “There can not be anything more stupid then arresting someone for reciting the Hanuman Chalisa. This was foolishness of the government...”
Meanwhile, a team of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) visited the couple’s apartment in suburban Khar but found it locked, an official familiar with the matter said. The visit came following a complaint about illegal construction on the eighth floor of the Lavie building, where the Ranas have an apartment, an official said on condition of anonymity.