A quick summary: The Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, dropped charges of extortion and using inappropriate language against five people from Jalgaon Jamod but kept charges of physical attack and entering someone else's property without permission. The case was about an event that supposedly happened in March 2019.
On March 18, 2019, Puspa Wagh went to the police station in Jalgaon Jamod and said that five men barged into her house and asked for money. The accused, Ragunath Kaulkar and others, allegedly wanted Rs. 5,00,000 to stop her illegal building from being torn down. They supposedly threatened her, saying that one of their wives, who is a councilor in the local government, could sway the decision.
At first, the police did not take action on Puspa Wagh's complaint, so she went to the local judge in Jalgaon Jamod. On August 25, 2020, the judge told the police to look into the matter. By May 9, 2022, the judge decided to charge Ragunath Kaulkar and others with trying to get money by threatening, physical attack, entering someone else's property, and using bad language.
Ragunath Kaulkar and the other accused disagreed with this decision. They argued that the charges did not have the necessary proof for trying to get money by threatening and using bad language. On April 23, 2025, another judge in Khamgaon rejected their request to change the decision. Not satisfied, they took the case to the High Court.
On November 11, 2025, Justice M.M. Nerlikar looked at the case again. The court found that the accusations did not meet the legal standards for trying to get money by threatening or using bad language. For trying to get money by threatening, the court noted that no money or property was actually given because of threats. Also, the claims of using bad language did not have proof of causing public disturbance.
"To prove a case of trying to get money by threatening, it is necessary to show that the accused made the victim afraid of getting hurt and then made them give up property or money dishonestly."
The court did, however, keep the charges of physical attack and entering someone else's property without permission, as there were believable claims about these actions.
The High Court's decision partly favored Ragunath Kaulkar and the other accused by dropping the charges of trying to get money by threatening and using bad language. However, they still have to face charges for physical attack and entering someone else's property without permission.
