Nitesh Rane had allegedly called Sanjay Raut a "snake" (File)
A local court on Tuesday issued a bailable warrant against BJP MLA Nitesh Rane in connection with a defamation complaint lodged against him by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
The Mazgaon Metropolitan Magistrate Court issued the bailable warrant of Rs 15,000 as Rane failed to appear before it on Tuesday.
The court had last month issued a process (summons) to Mr Rane directing him to appear before it.
The court on Tuesday noted that Mr Rane was absent and that no lawyer was present for him.
Mr Raut's lawyer then filed an application seeking the issuance of a warrant against the MLA.
The court accepted the application and posted the matter for further hearing on December 15. Mr Rane would have to appear before the court on that date and get the warrant cancelled.
In May this year, Mr Rane, son of Union minister Narayan Rane, had allegedly called Mr Raut a "snake" who would ditch Uddhav Thackeray and join the NCP by June 10, 2023.
Mr Raut, a Rajya Sabha member, filed a complaint before the magistrate's court seeking action against Rane for the alleged "defamatory and blatantly false" remarks.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)