The Bombay High Court on Tuesday cancelled the caste certificate issued to Navneet Kaur Rana, an Independent MP from Maharashtra, PTI reported.
A division bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and VG Bisht said Rana got her caste certificate fraudulently by using fabricated documents. The court directed her to surrender it within six weeks and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh, which she needs to pay to the Maharashtra Legal Services Authority within a period of two weeks.
The judges said the 35-year-old MP wanted to avail benefits given to a candidate from the Scheduled Caste category and therefore made false claims. Her candidature was challenged by a former MP and Shiv Sena leader Anandrao Adsul.
Rana was elected from Amravati Lok Sabha constituency in 2019. She now faces the prospect of losing her seat, but the court has not made any observations regarding that, according to NDTV.
The Independent MP told ANI that she will move the Supreme Court against the High Court’s order.
“I am confident that I will get justice,” she added.
In March, Rana had accused Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant of threatening her in the lobby of the Lok Sabha as she spoke against the Maharashtra government. In a letter to Speaker Om Birla, she sought strict action against Sawant for allegedly insulting her.
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