A Delhi court on Thursday issued summons against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for his alleged hate speeches against north Indians and instigating violence against them on various occasions.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Manish Yaduvanshi directed that a summons be issued against Raj Thackeray for September 28.
The court's order came on three different cases lodged against Thackeray, one of which pertains to attack by MNS supporters on north Indian students, including students from Bihar, who appeared for the railways' entrance exam in Mumbai on October 20, 2008.
The case was registered on a complaint by advocate Murad Ali. It was pending in the court of CJM in Betiya in Bihar before being transferred.
Two other cases lodged by one Sudhakar Ojha relates to the MNS chief's alleged remarks against Chhath Pooja, a festival celebrated especially in Bihar, calling it a "drama" and "show of numerical strength".
The three were among the seven cases transferred by the Supreme Court to Delhi in November 2011.
Of the seven cases, five were registered in Jharkhand and two in Bihar by different individuals. Thackeray had sought transfer of all the cases to one place.