‘Objectionable’ Remarks against Maha CM Shinde: Court Grants Bail to Datta Dalvi

A court in Mumbai on Friday granted bail to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former city mayor Datta Dalvi, just two days after his arrest for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Metropolitan Magistrate (Mulund court) M R Washimkar allowed his bail plea after hearing arguments from both the defense and the prosecution.

Dalvi, in his bail application filed through advocate Sundeep Singh, asserted his innocence, claiming he was falsely implicated in the case and played no role in the alleged offense. The plea argued that since the police’s investigation is nearly complete, and the accused has been in custody since his arrest, keeping him detained serves no purpose.

City police had arrested Dalvi on Wednesday for allegedly making objectionable remarks against CM Shinde. The police investigation revealed that a meeting organized by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) in suburban Bhandup on Sunday included Dalvi making objectionable remarks against CM Shinde. Based on this, an FIR was registered against Dalvi under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 153 (a) (promoting enmity between different groups on the 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 a breach of peace).

The Shiv Sena has been divided into rival factions led by Thackery and Shinde since the party split in June 2022.