Nitesh Rane has been convicted in the 2019 mud attack case involving an engineer of the National Highways Authority of India, with a court in Sindhudurg sentencing him to one month in jail. The sentence was suspended soon after the order, giving him time to challenge the conviction in a higher court.
The ruling puts focus back on a case that drew national attention after visuals showed the minister and his supporters throwing mud at a public official during a protest over the condition of the Mumbai-Goa highway.
The court said public grievances cannot justify humiliating a government officer in public. It also held that elected representatives cannot take the law into their own hands, according to PTI.
The Case
The incident took place in July 2019 during protests over the damaged condition of the Mumbai-Goa highway. Rane had called NHAI Sub-Divisional Engineer Prakash Shedekar to inspect widening work on the route.
Prosecutors said Rane and his supporters confronted the engineer over waterlogging and the quality of road construction. He was later seen on camera with supporters pouring mud on the official.
He also faced charges including rioting, criminal conspiracy and assault aimed at preventing a public servant from carrying out official duties.
Court View
Additional Sessions Court Judge V S Deshmukh said the protest may have been driven by public interest, but the method used was unlawful and amounted to an abuse of power.
"Even though Rane's intention was to raise a voice against the poor quality of work and inconvenience faced by the people, he was not supposed to humiliate or insult a public servant in public," the judge said.
"If such incidents continue to occur, public servants would not be able to discharge their duties with dignity," the judge added.
The court convicted Rane under Section 504 for intentional insult intended to provoke a breach of peace and awarded a one-month jail term. It acquitted the 29 other accused named in the case.
With the sentence suspended, the matter is expected to move to an appellate court if Rane challenges the verdict.
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