Mumbai: A special court on Saturday deferred the decision over the bail plea filed by MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana to May 2. The couple had moved court seeking bail in the Hanuman Chalisa row case registered against them under provisions related to sedition and promoting enmity between two groups of the society. The arrest was made following their declaration to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's private residence in Mumbai.
The special court bench headed by Justice RN Rokade reserved the order for Monday, after listening to arguments from both the prosecution and the defense. In the bail plea filed by the Amravati based legislator couple, it was argued that a call to recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of Chief Minister Thackeray's house cannot be used to promote feelings of enmity or hatred among people. It further claimed that the charge under section 153(A) cannot be sustained, adding that the act can in no way be put under offence of sedition.
The bail plea further mentioned that as demanded in the notice issued by the Mumbai police under section 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the applicant had not stepped out of her residence in compliance. The Rana couple had eventually dropped their plan to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside 'Matoshree' on April 23 citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mumbai for an award ceremony the next day. However, they were arrested from their Khar residence hours after they declared their decision to cancel.
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