SENA LEADER FINED ₹1L FOR MISUSING LAW TO SETTLE SCORES

The Bombay high court on Monday imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on Lalita Shinde, Nashik taluka president of the ladies wing of Shiv Sena and a former trustee of the Trim-bakeshwar Temple Trust, which manages the Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik, for misusing the legal process to settle a personal score and failing to disclose material facts.

- Prateem Rohanekar

The division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Sandeep Marne was hearing Shinde’s plea challenging the ₹200 fee levied by the trust for VIP darshans.

Shinde claimed that the trust had no authority to regulate the entry of devotees into the temple or charge any fee for darshans as the property belonged to the Archaeological Survey of India. The Shiv Sena functionary approached the high court after raising the issue at multiple forums including the Archeological Survey of India and the Charity Commissioner.