The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Maharashtra government on an application seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte and his wife Jayashree Patil by a Court in Akola district recently.

A case of cheating was registered against Sadavarte, Patil and others at Akot City police station in Akola. According to the complainant in the case, Vijay Malokar, an office-bearer of the Shiv Sena-backed Maharashtra ST Kamgar Sena, Sadavarte had allegedly collected money from the state transport workers and cheated them.

They were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention). The additional sessions court at Akot on April 22 granted anticipatory bail to the couple after they filed an application for it.

On behalf of Malokar, Advocate Ashish Fule challenged the order by Akot court and sought cancellation of anticipatory bail to Sadavarte and Patil.

Justice Anil Kilor issued the notice to the state government returnable after vacation.

Sadavarte, who claimed to represent a section of the striking workers of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), was arrested along with several workers of the transport body, in Mumbai soon after they staged a fierce protest outside NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence in the metropolis on April 8.

Sadavarte walked out of the Arthur Road prison in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday evening after securing bail in all the FIRs that he is facing. Apart from Mumbai and Akola, cases were registered against him in Pune and Kolhapur.



With PTI inputs