Mumbai: A court in Maharashtra capital Mumbai has summoned former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his fellow party leader Sanjay Raut in a Rs 100 crore defamation case filed by Eknath Shinde faction MP, Rahul Shewale. On Tuesday, the Mumbai Sessions Court issued a summons to Thackeray and Raut asking them to appear in court on July 14.
The summons has been issued following a defamation case filed by Shewale alleging that the accused had defamed him in an article in 'Samana' newspaper, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece. According to Shewale, an article published in Samana newspaper in Hindi and Marathi on Dec. 29, 2022 claimed that he had a real estate business in Dubai and Karachi in Pakistan.
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Following the article in Saamana, Rahul Shewale sent a notice to Thackeray and Raut through his lawyer on Jan. 3, this year asking them to explain on what grounds the newspaper had made such a big claim. In reply to Shewale's notice, Thackeray and Raut said that they had heard about the matter from a woman who was discussing this on the Internet and had based the article based on those claims.
Not satisfied with this reply, Rahul Shewale on behalf of his lawyer Chitra Salunkhe filed a criminal defamation complaint in the Bombay Magistrate's Court and also filed a suit for Rs 100 crores. During the hearing in Mumbai court on Tuesday, the lawyers on behalf of Shewale argued that "it is not ethical to make false accusations against those who have worked for one party”. After hearing Shewale's plea, the Magistrate Court summoned Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut to appear before the court on July 14.
