Maharashtra Minister Rane Sentenced to 1-Month Jail

A court in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, sentenced state minister Nitesh Rane to one month in prison on Monday for intentionally insulting a National Highways Authority of India engineer by pouring muddy water on him during a 2019 protest over poor road conditions.

The incident occurred on July 4, 2019, at a bridge over the Gad River in Kankavli, where Rane, then a Congress legislator, had summoned engineer Prakash Shedekar to inspect widening work on the Mumbai-Goa highway. Frustrated by substandard construction and waterlogging, Rane and his supporters confronted Shedekar, poured muddy water on him and compelled him to walk through slush in public view.

Additional Sessions Judge V S Deshmukh convicted Rane under Indian Penal Code section 504, which covers intentional insults intended to provoke a breach of the peace. The court acquitted Rane and 29 other accused of graver charges, including rioting, criminal conspiracy and assault on a public servant, citing insufficient evidence.

In its ruling, the court acknowledged Rane's aim to highlight public inconvenience but deemed his methods unacceptable. "Even though Rane's intention was to raise a voice against the poor quality of work...