Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashes 2020 suspension of JKPCC employee

Kalyan District and Sessions Court Judge Santosh Aage acquitted Uddhav Thackeray, Eknath Shinde, Anand Paranjape and Rajendra Devlekar in a defamation case filed 17 years ago by Vasant Davkhare. The court dismissed the charges due to lack of evidence, noting gaps in the investigation and the sequence of events. The case originated when Thackeray, Shinde and Paranjape showed recordings of Davkhare to people through television during a campaign meeting.

Davkhare, who was the NCP candidate in the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat in 2009, and Paranjape, the winning Shiv Sena candidate, later filed a suit against the four accused. The court examined the sequence of events, witnesses' testimony, and the investigation process, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations.

The defense argued that the case was politically motivated and that witnesses did not speak to the facts. Despite the acquittal, Anand Paranjape stated that the case was filed out of vendetta in politics and that they would continue to respect Davkhare.