A court in Maharashtra has convicted Nitesh Rane in connection with a 2019 incident involving an engineer from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Rane has been sentenced to one month in jail for pouring mud on a government official during a protest over road conditions.
The case dates back to July 4, 2019, when Rane, along with his supporters, confronted NHAI deputy engineer Prakash Shedekar over the poor state of the Mumbai-Goa highway. During the protest, muddy water was allegedly poured on the engineer, and he was made to walk through slush in public.
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Charges and court findings
Rane was among 30 individuals charged with multiple offences, including rioting, criminal conspiracy, and assault aimed at deterring a public servant. At the time of the incident, he was associated with the Congress party.
The Sindhudurg court, however, acquitted all the accused of most charges, citing insufficient evidence. Rane was found guilty under IPC Section 504, which relates to intentional insult intended to provoke a breach of public peace, specifically for assaulting and obstructing a public servant.
Following the verdict, the court suspended his sentence, giving him time to approach a higher court on appeal. The remaining 29 accused were acquitted.
Court's observations
In its ruling, the court underscored the limits of protest. "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," additional sessions court judge V S Deshmukh stated, per Hindustan Times.
The court further warned of broader implications. "If such incidents continue to occur, public servants would not be able to discharge their duties with dignity," the judge noted.
Describing the act as an overreach, the court termed it an "abuse of power" and added that "it is the demand of time to curb such tendency".
Details of the Incident
According to the prosecution, Rane had called the NHAI Sub-Divisional Engineer to a bridge over the Gad River in Kankavli to inspect ongoing work. Frustration over waterlogging and poor construction reportedly led to the confrontation.
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The court observed that the engineer, despite holding a senior position, was publicly humiliated. "Despite that, he was made to walk through the muddy water in public. It would have certainly humiliated and insulted him," the court remarked.
It concluded that forcing the engineer into the act "was nothing but an intentional insult to the informant", and amounted to provocation likely to disturb public peace.
