Mumbai court rejects BJP MLC Praveen Darekar's anticipatory bail plea

A Mumbai court, on Friday, rejected the anticipatory bail plea of BJP leader and MLC Pravin Darekar.

The special court in Mumbai, which is meant to deal with cases related to elected representatives, has rejected the anticipatory bail application of BJP MLC Praveen Darekar. Special Judge Rahul Rokde, however, gave protection from any coercive action till Tuesday, March 29.

Last week, an FIR was registered against Darekar for getting elected from a society of labourers when he is actually not a labourer. The complaint had stated that while contesting in the assembly polls in 2016, Darekar had filed an affidavit claiming that he was an independent businessman. It further said that the family assets were shown as being worth Rs 2.13 crore and that his monthly income of Rs 2.5 lakh, which according to the complaint, cannot be that of a labourer.

After the FIR was registered, Darekar had moved the court anticipating arrest. While opposing his plea, special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat had stated that the investigation is at a preliminary stage and any protection given to Darekar would hamper the progress of the case.

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Darekar, through his lawyers Abaad Ponda and Akhilesh Chaubey, had said that he had worked for two months - Nov and Dec 2017, as a supervisor at a construction site and had earned Rs 25,750. However, investigating officer Sushil Kumar Gaikwad refuted the claims by stating that during the time Darekar has shown working here in Mumbai, he was actually in Nagpur, attending the winter session of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha.

It is this very issue that the judge has taken to reject the application. Chaubey was present in court when the court rejected the plea stating that there is prima facie evidence against Darekar.

However, Chaubey immediately sought protection from any coercive step by the investigating agency for two weeks. Chaubey pointed out that Darekar had been granted interim protection from court till the order was passed today. The two-week protection would enable Darekar to approach the High Court, said Chaubey. Although there was no one from the prosecution side present in court except for the investigating officer, when the order was dictated late in the evening on Friday.