Court gives bail to Fadnavis in election affidavit case
NAGPUR: A court in Nagpur on Thursday granted bail to former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in a case filed against him by lawyer Satish Ukey, who has pointed out that the latter did not mention two criminal cases he faced in his 2014 election affidavit.
Fadnavis was present in the court when it granted him bail on a personal-release bond of ~15,000. The court posted the matter for the next hearing on March 30.
The magistrate had given the last chance to Fadnavis to appear before the court on Thursday. “The presence of the accused (Fadnavis) is secured. The offences are bailable. There is no apprehension of him absconding. Hence, bail is granted,” Magistrate Ingle said.
Fadnavis’s lawyer, Sunil Manohar, said the offence is bailable under section 125 of the Representation of People Act.
He presented an application for his client’s permanent exemption for personal appearance.
Ukey and his lawyer, Sudeep Jaiswal, opposed the bail and accused Fadnavis of deliberately skipping court proceedings earlier. He also accused Fadnavis of contempt of court and sought initiation of proceedings against him.
Fadnavis said the cases were filed when he participated in public agitations as a corporator and they were not linked to any civil or criminal matter. He said he would present all facts before the court. “I am sure that I will get justice from the court,” Fadnavis said.
Claiming that the complaint seeking criminal action against him is “politically motivated”, Fadnavis said, “I know who is behind this.”
The Supreme Court last week reserved its order on a review appeal filed by Fadnavis to reconsider its October 2019 verdict, asking him to face trial in the Nagpur court for failing to furnish details of two pending criminal cases against him.
A magistrate rejected Ukey’s application when he first moved court against Fadnavis in 2015 but a district court later overruled the verdict. The Bombay high court ruled in favour of Fadnavis, before the Supreme Court in October 2019 set aside the verdict and said the Bharatiya Janata Party leader should face trial.
During the previous three hearings, Fadnavis did not appear before the lower court since a review petition was pending before the Supreme Court.