HC stays arrest warrant against Raj Thackeray till Jan 4

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court today stayed the arrest warrant against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray till January 4, 2010.

Badnapur JMFC court had issued the arrest warrant against Raj in a stone pelting incident at a bus near Hirvi Phata in Badnapur of Jalna district on October 21 in 2008.

Justice S S Shinde of the Aurangabad Bench passed the order and advocate Sagar Ladda appeared for Raj.

Notably, Badnapur police had registered a case against Raj under Section 336,143,109, 114 of IPC read with section 3,4 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Section 135 of Bombay Police Act on October 21 in 2008.

A bus driver Ambadas Telangare had filed a complaint to the police that 10 to 15 unidentified youths hurled stones at the bus he was driving near the Hirvi phata. Police had chargesheeted Raj in the matter as the activists who hurled stones at the bus were shouting ‘MNS Zindabad’ slogans.

On December 5 in 2009, JMFC Satyavan Doke issued a non- bailable arrest warrant against Raj and also rejected the plea to stay it. Raj's lawyer Sagar Ladda had argued that Raj is being falsely implicated in the matter as he was arrested by the Kherwadi police in Mumbai from a guest house in Ratnagiri, on the same day when the said incident took place. He was not on the spot, the lawyer has said.