MUMBAI: The city police are set to submit on Wednesday the chargesheet against Navneet Kaur Rana, Independent MP from Amaravati, and her MLA-husband Ravi Rana who were arrested after they planned to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside CM Uddhav Thackeray's residence in Bandra.
They will be charged with assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty (Section 353 of IPC) but the sedition charge, initially mentioned in the FIR, will not be invoked because the Centre has assured the Supreme Court to keep in limbo the cases pending under IPC Section 124A. This May, the SC had put on hold all pending trials, appeals and proceedings under Section 124A till the Centre completes its exercise in re-examining its provisions.
On April 23, the Ranas were arrested by the police for planning to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside the CM's private residence Matoshree on April 24, when PM Narendra Modi was to visit the city. The couple got bail on May 4 and cops have asked them to be present in the Bandra metropolitan magistrate court on Wednesday when the chargesheet is presented.
The police had said that the Rana couple's acts created hateful sentiments in the minds of citizens against the Maharashtra government.
In their remand application, the police had said that despite asking them not to disrupt law and order, they announced they would be holding a peaceful protest at Matoshree on a day when they knew PM Modi would be visiting the city. The announcement could have ignited tensions, the police had said.
