The Bombay High Court has clubbed all the FIRs lodged against Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale and student Nikhil Bhamre, both of whom stand accused of uploading defamatory posts against NCP president Sharad Pawar.
A total of 28 FIRs have been filed — 22 against Chitale, and six against Bhamre.
As a result of the HC's order, all FIRs against Chitale have been merged with the first FIR lodged against her at Kalwa police station in Thane district.
All FIRs against Bhamre would now be clubbed at Naupada police station in Thane, the HC said on Monday.
A division bench of Justices N M Jamdar and N R Borkar ordered this after taking note of a Supreme Court order which said when there are multiple FIRs, then the first case lodged can be considered as the main FIR and the remaining cases can be considered as witness statements in the first FIR.
“What is the state government’s stand on these prayers made in the petition? Both the government and the complainants shall file their affidavits,” the court said while posting the matter for further hearing on September 6.
What was the case?
Chitale and Bhamre were arrested in May this year and released on bail in June.
The actress had posted a Marathi poem on her Facebook profile, attributed to someone else, that mentions only a surname (Pawar) and an age (80). But it also refers to the physical ailments the 81-year-old NCP leader suffers from.
It is not the first time the actor, who has 50,600 Instagram followers and 26,000 Facebook fans, has landed in trouble. A social media post she made in 2020 was deemed offensive toward Dalits. In the past, she has made controversial comments about other religions and even Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Bhamre, a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker, apparently referring to Pawar, had tweeted in Marathi: “Time has come for Baramati’s Gandhi ... to create Nathuram Godse of Baramati.”
Also read: Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale gets 14 days in jail for a Facebook post mocking Sharad Pawar
(With inputs from PTI)
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