Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde
Kalyan: A Kalyan court on Wednesday acquitted Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray , deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde , former MP Anand Paranjape and local Shiv Sena neta Ramakant Deolikar in a defamation case dating back to the 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign, reports Pradeep Gupta. He said the case was filed after the 2009 Lok Sabha election and that the accused had fought the legal battle for nearly 17 years.
Advocate Jayesh Vani, who represented Thackeray, said the defence had argued that the case was politically motivated and that the witnesses produced by the complainant had failed to substantiate the allegations. Paranjape, who was also an accused in the case, welcomed the verdict and said the allegations had no substance from the beginning. Paranjape also said his respect for Davkhare remained unchanged, describing him as a respected political figure While expressing satisfaction over the verdict.
He said the court, after examining the evidence and hearing both sides, had acquitted all the accused.