'Raj could be jailed for this'

Senior lawyers say MNS chief's anti-Hindi comments and his MLAs' attack on SP leader violate constitutional and legal provisions

Senior lawyers say MNS chief's anti-Hindi comments and his MLAs' attack on SP leader violate constitutional and legal provisions

The four-year suspension imposed by Speaker Ganpatrao Deshmukh on the four erring MNS MLAs could be the first of many troubles that Raj Thackeray may have to deal with in the weeks ahead.

Senior lawyers of the Supreme Court say Thackeray and his supporters may have landed in serious trouble.

SC lawyer Harsh Pratap Sharma believes Thackeray's insistence that all legislators take oath in Marathi, and the attack by MLAs of his party on Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi, would attract criminal proceedings.

Said Sharma, "Thackeray has violated provisions of Section 153 A of the IPC, as he has acted in ways that promote enmity among different communities on the basis of language."

Pug Marks: Raj Thackeray, here meeting his MLAs yesterday, could face up to three years in jail if a case of promoting enmity is filed against him and he's convicted.

Yet another senior SC lawyer Harish Salve, said the attack of MNS leaders on Azmi amounted to a serious law and order problem. "Thackeray can be booked under the National Security Prevention Act.
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He can be imprisoned for two years if convicted."

Another senior lawyer from SC, Surat Singh, said, "The MNS's attack on Azmi amounts to a breach of the Assembly Privilege Act.
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Not only can the membership of the offending MLAs be cancelled, criminal cases can also be registered against them.

Raj Thackeray could also be tried under Section 153-A and National Security Act. He could face up to three years of imprisonment if convicted."

What Raj Said

Thackeray has said publicly that if MLAs of other parties don't take oath in Marathi, they would have to face "MNS music".

"If anyone dares not to take the oath in Marathi, you will see what my MLAs can do. They will create a ruckus in the House," he had warned.