In a temporary respite for Women And Child Welfare minister Yashomati Thakur, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday suspended her three months imprisonment sentence.
The state's cabinet minister was convicted in an eight-year old road rage incident by a lower court, earlier this month.
A single-judge bench of Justice Vinay Joshi stayed the three months jail term till October 27, the day when the bench would hear the matter next.
Thakur had petitioned the bench last week, challenging her conviction in the road rage incident.
Appearing for Thakur, senior counsel Subodh Dharmdhikari told the judge that the lower court has erred in convicting the Congress leader and that there is not even a prima facie case against her.
Having heard the contention, Justice Joshi noted that the trial court had only granted a three months jail term and "thus, I deem it fit to stay the sentence till her appeal is heard and decided," the bench said.
According to the prosecution case, Thakur, her driver and two other associates had beaten up an on-duty traffic constable in March 2012.
The constable, as per the police, had asked Thakur's driver to stop the vehicle, which was allegedly moving in a wrong direction - a one way lane, in Chunabhatti area, Amravati.
Enraged over being stopped, Thakur, her driver Sagarsh Khandekar and her party workers Sharad Kashirav Jawanjal and Raju Kisan Ingle, allegedly assaulted the traffic cop.
Accordingly, all four of them were booked under the relevant provisions of law.
