The Bombay High Court on Tuesday, 22 June, asked the Mumbai Police to investigate allegations of stalking and harassment – purportedly done by a few at the best of Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut – made by a 36-year-old woman, reported news agency PTI.
A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar also asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to submit a report on the matter before 24 June.
The petition, filed by a Psychologist in February, had claimed that the woman was being staked on instructions from Raut and her estranged husband.
However, the woman’s lawyer, Abha Singh, told the High Court that her client was arrested on charges of obtaining a fake PhD degree, after filing the above-mentioned plea in February.
"The petitioner has been in jail for ten days now. After she filed the petition in High Court, the entire police machinery has been unleashed on her now. This is complete vindictiveness and mala fide action ,” PTI quoted Singh as saying.
Complainant Like Daughter: Raut’s Lawyer
While directing the Commissioner of Police to look into the matter and take "appropriate action", the court said that the petitioner could file a separate plea challenging her arrest.
The woman has claimed that she had lodged three complaints in the matter between 2013 and 2019, but received no recourse.
When the case was heard in March 2021, Sanjay Raut’s lawyer Prasad Dhakephalkar had dismissed the allegations saying that the petitioner was like a daughter to Raut.
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