Court grants pre-arrest bail to Shinde Sena leader who ‘offended’ journalist

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted pre-arrest bail to Waman Mhatre, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader from Badlapur, who had allegedly made offensive remarks against a woman journalist in August.
While accepting the anticipatory bail plea filed by Mhatre, Justice Sandeep Marne said “I have allowed the petition.’
Mhatre, former Mayor of the Kulgaon Badlapur Municipality in Thane district, was accused of confronting the journalist while she was covering the protest against the sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls in August, and told her that she was “reporting as if she herself had been raped”.
Following the incident, the journalist had registered an FIR with Badlapur police against Mhatre for his alleged offensive comments under the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. She opposed his anticipatory bail application in the High Court.
Mhatre initially filed an anticipatory bail plea in the Kalyan Sessions Court, which was subsequently rejected. Following this, he sought relief from the High Court with the assistance of advocate Viresh Purwant, contending that the incident did not occur as alleged by the journalist.
“In fact, Mhatre was advising/requesting her not to publish any fake or false news which was likely to instigate the public who were protesting against the sensitive matter which had occurred in Badlapur recently”, Advocate Viresh Purawat argued.
Mhatre claimed that the allegations were levelled only in order to malign his reputation in Badlapur with an intention to discredit him politically at the behest of his political rivals.
The journalist had opposed Mhatre’s plea through advocate Sameer Vaidya and stated that proper sections had not been applied by the police, alleging that they were hand-in-glove with Mhatre, due to which her statement had been mellowed down from what she had stated and what had actually transpired.