Court Holds Nitesh Rane Guilty For Publicly Humiliating NHAI Engineer
A court in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district has convicted state minister Nitesh Rane in a 2019 case involving the public humiliation of a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) engineer, sentencing him to one month in jail.
The case stems from an incident in which Rane allegedly poured muddy water on an engineer during a protest over poor road construction work on the Mumbai-Goa highway.
Sentence Suspended To Allow Appeal, 29 Co-Accused Acquitted
Soon after delivering the sentence, the court suspended the punishment, giving Rane an opportunity to challenge the order before a higher court.
In the same case, the remaining 29 accused were acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence to establish charges against them.
The verdict provides temporary relief to the Maharashtra minister, but the conviction remains a legal setback with political implications.
Court Says Public Representatives Cannot Abuse Authority
Additional Sessions Judge V S Deshmukh observed that although Rane may have intended to protest poor-quality infrastructure work and highlight public inconvenience, his conduct crossed legal limits.
The court stated that humiliating a government official in public amounts to misuse of political power and undermines the dignity of public servants.
The judge stressed that such actions can weaken officials’ ability to carry out their duties and noted that such conduct by lawmakers must be discouraged.
Convicted Under Section 504, Cleared Of Rioting And Assault Charges
Rane was among 30 individuals booked in the case under several sections related to rioting, criminal conspiracy, and assault on a public servant.
However, the court acquitted all the accused of these major charges due to lack of adequate evidence.
Nitesh Rane was convicted only under Section 504, which deals with intentional insult aimed at provoking a breach of peace, and was sentenced to one month in prison.
2019 Incident Linked To Protest Over Mumbai-Goa Highway Work
The incident occurred on July 4, 2019, when Rane, then serving as a Congress MLA, called NHAI sub-divisional engineer Prakash Shedekar to inspect a bridge over the Gad river in Kankavli.
The visit was linked to complaints regarding substandard work and severe waterlogging on the Mumbai-Goa highway project.
According to the prosecution, the confrontation escalated when Rane and his supporters allegedly forced the engineer to walk through muddy slush and poured muddy water on him in front of the public.
Court Calls Act A Deliberate Public Insult
In its order, the court observed that the engineer occupied a senior government position and that forcing him to walk through mud in public was a clear act of humiliation.
The judge ruled that Rane’s actions were not spontaneous but amounted to a deliberate insult intended to provoke and disturb public peace.
The court described the act as an example of political overreach and said public office holders must be held accountable when they misuse their influence.
Conviction Poses Political Embarrassment For Maharashtra Minister
Although the sentence has been temporarily suspended, the conviction creates political embarrassment for Nitesh Rane, who currently serves as a minister in the Maharashtra government.
The case revives attention on the 2019 protest incident and may trigger political criticism from opposition parties over conduct and accountability in public office.
