Supreme Court grants 10-day protection from arrest to Nitesh Rane

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, January 27

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted protection from arrest to Nitesh Rane, a BJP MLA in Maharashtra and son of Union Minister Narayan Rane, in an attempt to murder case.

A Bench led by CJI NV Ramana, however, asked him to surrender before the trial court and seek regular bail.

The top court's order came on a petition filed by Rane challenging the January 17 Bombay High Court order rejecting his anticipatory bail plea in an attempt to murder case.

The Bench had on Tuesday agreed to hear his petition after senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi alleged on his behalf that it was a case of political rivalry.

On Thursday, Rohatgi reiterated his allegation that the case was a result of political vendetta.

On behalf of the State of Maharashtra, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi described it as a serious case of attempt to murder and went on to give the details attributed to the accused by the police.

Rane is accused of being the mastermind behind the attempt on the life of a Shiv Sena member on December 18 last year in the Kankavli area of Maharashtra.

The Sindhudurg Sessions Court and the Bombay High Court had rejected his anticipatory bail plea. The Maharashtra government had assured that no coercive action would be taken against Rane till January 27 in order to enable him to approach the Supreme Court.

Rane had submitted before the Bombay High Court that the FIR against him was because he had mocked Shiv Sena leader and State Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray and that the FIR was registered with the sole aim of preventing his participation in the December 30, 2021 Sindhudurg Cooperative Bank district elections.

The state police contended that they had circumstantial evidence to support their case and they needed Rane’s custody to complete the probe.

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