Thane: The Thane Chief Judicial Magistrate Court has acquitted Raj Thackeray and five others in a 2008 case relating to the alleged assault on railway employees and candidates at Kalyan Railway Station, holding that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
The case pertained to allegations that workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had attacked railway employees and candidates appearing for railway recruitment examinations amid protests against “outsiders” arriving from other states.
According to the prosecution, Raj Thackeray had allegedly raised the issue of “outsiders” in 2008 and delivered inflammatory speeches that allegedly provoked party workers to resort to violence. Following the incident, a complaint was registered against Thackeray and seven others, leading to their arrest. The trial initially began before the Kalyan court and was later conducted before the Chief Judicial Magistrate at Thane.
Advocate Sayaji Nangre, appearing for Thackeray, said the prosecution’s primary reliance was on a Compact Disc (CD) containing alleged electronic evidence. However, the prosecution failed to produce the mandatory certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act required for admissibility of electronic records.
“The only evidence which the prosecution relied upon was the Compact Disc (CD), but the prosecution could not play it before the court as they failed to produce the mandatory Section 65B certificate under the Evidence Act. Since the prosecution failed to produce the same, the only evidence against my client ad others could not be proved. Hence, all the accused were acquitted due to want of evidence,” Nangre told FPJ.
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In the defence arguments filed before the court, Swaraj alias Raj S. Thackeray contended that the prosecution had failed to establish his presence, participation, or role in any unlawful assembly or assault connected to the incident.
The memorandum further argued that there was no evidence to show that Thackeray was part of an unlawful assembly, shared any common object with the co-accused, or committed offences related to rioting, assault, criminal intimidation, or obstruction of public servants.
The defence also challenged the admissibility and handling of the electronic evidence, contending that the investigating agency had failed to maintain proper chain of custody, obtain forensic certification, or comply with legal safeguards governing digital evidence.
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