A court in Mumbai on Friday granted bail to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former city mayor Datta Dalvi, two days after he was arrested for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
His bail plea was allowed by Metropolitan Magistrate (Mulund court) M R Washimkar after it heard arguments from both defence and prosecution.
In the bail application, filed through advocate Sundeep Singh, Dalvi claimed that he was ‘’innocent and falsely implicated’’ in the case. He has not played any role in the alleged offence, the plea said.
The accused has been in custody since the day of his arrest and police’s investigation is almost over. Hence, no purpose will be served by keeping him in custody, it added. Dalvi was arrested by the city police on Wednesday for the alleged objectionable remark against CM Shinde.
During their probe, the police found that a meeting was organised on Sunday by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) in suburban Bhandup, where Dalvi allegedly made some objectionable remarks against CM Shinde.
On that basis, a first information report (FIR) was registered against Dalvi under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 153 (a) (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc), 153 (b) (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 294 (obscene acts and songs) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace). The rival factions of the Shiv Sena led by Thackery and Shinde are at daggers drawn since the party split in June 2022.
Mumbai Police took action on Wednesday, filing charges against 35-40 individuals associated with the Shiv Sena UBT faction. The group had gathered outside the Bhandup police station to protest the arrest of former mayor Datta Dalvi. The offense was registered under the Maharashtra Police Act due to the violation of the notice issued by the Mumbai police commissioner, prohibiting large gatherings.
Simultaneously, Datta Dalvi, apprehended by the Bhandup police, faces another night in custody as his bail hearing arguments transpired on Thursday. The court is set to deliver its verdict on Friday. Dalvi’s arrest pertains to allegations of using abusive language against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.