Mumbai: While noting repeated absence from proceedings despite earlier orders, a sessions court on Tuesday allowed an exemption application filed by mayor and BJP corporator Ritu Tawde, but with a cost of Rs 300 to be credited to govt on or before the next date. Tawde is accused in the 2016 Shastri Nagar municipal school assault case. The matter will come up for hearing on Oct 7.A similar order was passed against three other co-accused. The court recorded, “This application was filed by the accused… the case is 7 years old… Vide order…personal exemption was granted for a last chance. Despite… three orders, the accused are continuously absent and filing application for exemption,” the judge said.The case arises from an alleged incident in 2016 at a municipal school in Shastri Nagar, where a dispute linked to the transfer of a teacher allegedly escalated into a physical confrontation. The prosecution’s case is that Tawde and several others used criminal force against school staff members during the incident.The alleged victims have specifically identified Tawde as one of the aggressors. While directing the case to proceed to trial earlier, the judge had observed that the material on record was “more than sufficient to frame a charge against the applicant,” noting that the victims had “categorically named” Tawde as the person who assaulted them.
