MP Navneet Kaur Rana Fined Rs 2 Lakh For "Fake Caste Certificate": Reports

Navneet Kaur Rana, independent Member of Parliament from Amaravati, was Tuesday fined by the Bombay High Court for producing caste certificates deemed fake. The 35-year-old has been granted over a month's time to prove the validity of her documents in court, failing which, she could reportedly lose her parliamentary seat.

The Nagpur bench of the HC pronounced the order of cancellation of Rana's caste papers on the complaint filed by Shiv Sena leader Anandrao Adsul. Confiscating her certificate, the Nagpur bench of the HC ruled Rana "obtained the caste certificate fraudulently and got said caste certificate validated fraudulently from Scrutiny Committee by producing fabricated and fraudulent documents."

The court has fined Rana rupees two lakh. The cost has to be paid to Maharashtra Legal Services Authority within a fortnight, Indian Express reports.

"I respect the court's order as a citizen of this country. I will approach the Supreme Court, I am confident that I will get justice," Rana reacted saying.

Navneet Kaur Rana In Trouble Over Caste Certificate Validity

Adsul is a Shiv Sena MP formerly from Amaravati. He was defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by Rana, who clinched a big win as an independent candidate, with support from Indian National Congress (INC) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Even prior to Rana's election to office in 2019, her caste certificate was challenged in court. A 2016 report from The Hindu notes a plea by one Raju Mankar, who claimed Rana falsely occupied the Scheduled Caste seat in parliament. "She originally hails from the State of Punjab. As per information received by the petitioners, she belongs to Labana caste which is not recognised as Scheduled Caste in the State of Maharashtra," the petition said.

Rana and the Shiv Sena have frequently been at loggerheads. Earlier this year in March, Rana alleged Sena leader Arvind Sawant threatened her with acid attacks for speaking against the Maharashtra government. Sawant had denied the allegations. A timeline of the controversy here.

A former actor of Telugu cinema, Rana is notably one of eight female lawmakers in Maharashtra.