Insufficient Evidence: Court Acquits Thackeray, Shinde in 2009 Defamation Case

A court in Kalyan on Wednesday acquitted Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, former MP Anand Paranjpe and late corporator Rajendra Deolekar in a criminal defamation case dating back to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Kalyan District Court Judge Santosh Age acquitted all four accused, citing insufficient evidence, and pointed to inconsistencies and gaps in the investigation.

The case was filed by late NCP leader Vasant Davkhare, who alleged that defamatory audio and video recordings referring to him were played during an election rally organised by Deolekar in Kalyan.

Paranjpe was contesting the 2009 Lok Sabha election against Davkhare and eventually won the seat. Following his defeat, Davkhare approached the court, alleging that the material played at the rally had tarnished his reputation.

During the prolonged trial, the court recorded statements of 20 witnesses, including political leaders and police personnel deployed at the rally venue.

The case continued for years as the political landscape changed, with the erstwhile Shiv Sena and NCP subsequently splitting. Shinde now heads the rival Shiv Sena faction, while Thackeray leads the Shiv Sena (UBT).

Last month, both Thackeray and Shinde recorded their statements before the court through video conference and denied the allegations. Defence lawyers questioned the authenticity of the recordings produced by the prosecution and argued that there was no direct evidence linking the accused to them.

After examining the evidence, the court found significant discrepancies in the prosecution's case and ordered the acquittal of all the accused.

Paranjpe, who later joined the NCP before returning to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, was present in court when the verdict was delivered.

He said the case stemmed from political allegations and maintained that Davkhare had filed it after losing the election. Advocate Jayesh Wani, who represented Thackeray, also welcomed the verdict.