Mumbai court discharges BJP leader Navneet Rana in caste certificate case

MUMBAI: A magistrate's court on Wednesday discharged BJP leader Navneet Rana in a caste certificate case. Her father, Harbhajan Singh Kundles, continues to face charges in the case. The father-daughter duo was booked on multiple charges, including cheating and forgery.In 2014, a social worker had moved the magistrate's court alleging that Navneet and her father prepared forged documents, filed a false affidavit, and had obtained a ‘Mochi' caste certificate, which falls under the category of Scheduled Caste. He first approached the police, but as they did not take any action on his complaint, he moved the court. In March 2014, the magistrate directed police to conduct an investigation. Subsequently, an FIR was registered at Mulund police station and a chargesheet submitted. In Aug 2022, the magistrate rejected Rana's plea for discharge after which she moved the sessions court. In Dec 2022, the sessions court too rejected her plea. In April 2025, another discharge plea was moved.In 2022, Navneet and her husband Ravi Rana were chargesheeted for allegedly obstructing police while being arrested after they planned to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside then Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's residence in Bandra.