Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had filed the complaint in 2023 over alleged defamatory remarks.
Mumbai, May 15 — A local court in Mumbai has issued a bailable warrant against Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane in connection with a defamation complaint filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut. First Class Judicial Magistrate Aarti Kulkarni issued the warrant on Thursday at the Mazgaon court after Rane failed to appear for the hearing.This marks the second time within a month that the court has taken such action against Rane, a BJP MLA and the state’s Minister for Fisheries and Ports Development. The case will now be heard next on June 2, when a report on the execution of the warrant is expected.
The complaint stems from remarks made by Rane in May 2023, when he allegedly called Sanjay Raut a "snake" and claimed that Raut would abandon Uddhav Thackeray to join the then-undivided Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) by June that year.
In response, Raut filed a defamation complaint, terming the comments as "blatantly false and defamatory." The magistrate's court had issued multiple warrants against Rane for his repeated absence at the hearings.
The ongoing legal proceedings underscore the escalating tensions between political rivals in Maharashtra as defamation cases continue to play out in the courts.