Court acquits Uddhav Thackeray, Eknath Shinde in Vasant Davkhare defamation case

A defamation case filed by late leader Vasant Davkhare has been decided after 17 years. The Kalyan court has acquitted Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, former MP Anand Paranjpe and Ramakant Devalekar. The verdict was announced on September 23, 2026, and had drawn the attention of the state's political circles.

The case is linked to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, when Vasant Davkhare of the Nationalist Congress Party and Anand Paranjpe of the Shiv Sena were contesting from the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency. At a Shiv Sena campaign rally held in the Kolsewadi area of Kalyan East on April 22, 2009, organised for Anand Paranjpe's campaign, then Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray publicly played a video or CD claimed to be linked to Davkhare. The video purportedly showed Davkhare telling party workers to work to win the election without fear of the police or election officials.

Vasant Davkhare denied that the statements in the video were his and alleged that it had been selectively edited to defame him. He subsequently filed a defamation case in court against Uddhav Thackeray, Eknath Shinde, Anand Paranjpe and Ramakant Devalekar.

Over the nearly 17-year trial, testimony was recorded from more than 20 witnesses. Statements from Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde were recorded via video conferencing. The accused had denied the allegations from the outset. After the judicial process concluded, the final verdict was delivered on September 23, acquitting all four of the accused, bringing a close to the long-running case that had begun with the 2009 election.

Following the verdict, Anand Paranjpe expressed satisfaction, saying he had finally got justice in a case that had been running for 17 years. He also said Vasant Davkhare had been respected by him then and remained so today.