Hanuman Chalisa row: Special court issues notice to Rana couple on Mumbai Police's plea seeking cancellation of their bail

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A special court on Monday issued a notice to independent MP Navneet Rana and her MLA-husband Ravi Rana, accused in a sedition case following a row over the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa, seeking their response to an application filed by the Mumbai police urging for their bail to be cancelled.

The police sought that the couple's bail be cancelled on the ground that they had allegedly violated one of the conditions imposed by the special court while granting them bail last week.

Special Judge R N Rokade on Monday briefly heard special public prosecutor Pradip Gharat and issued a notice to the Rana couple for their response. The court will hear the matter further on May 18.

Navneet Rana, the Lok Sabha member from Amravati in Maharashtra, and her husband Ravi Rana, the MLA from Badnera in Amravati, were arrested by the Mumbai police on April 23 after they announced that they would recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's private residence 'Matoshree' in Bandra area here.

They were booked on charges of sedition and prompting enmity between different groups.

The special court had on May 4 granted bail to the couple and imposed some conditions on them, including not to indulge in a similar offence and not to speak to the media.

On Monday, the suburban Khar police filed an application through Pradip Gharat, seeking that the court cancel the couple's bail as they had allegedly violated the condition of not speaking to the media.

"The accused persons (Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana) have given interviews to media since their release and hence, flouted the condition imposed by the special court while granting them bail. We are seeking for the bail to be cancelled and a warrant to be issued to the accused and they be taken in custody forthwith," Gharat said.

He further told the court that the couple has now gone to Delhi.

In the application, the police noted that the court, while granting bail to the accused, said if any of the conditions imposed by it was violated, then it would amount to cancellation of their bail.

The accused persons, immediately after coming out of jail, started giving media bytes, saying they are willing to remain in jail for 14 years if reading of the Hanuman Chalisa is an offence, and made several comments on Uddhav Thackeray, the police mentioned in their application.

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