A Mumbai court directed the city police to execute the bailable warrant issued against Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray by Friday in a case related to a provocative speech made by him last year, which had appeared in the party paper Saamna.

Additional Sessions Judge S J Shah exempted the Sena chief from appearing in the trial (metropolitan) court. Thackeray had delivered a speech at Shanmukhananda Hall on June 19 last year on the party's anniversary day and the same was published in Saamna.

NCP activist Munna Tripathi moved the court against Thackeray last July in connection with the article, based on a speech by the Sena chief, saying it was "provocative" and meant to cause communal disharmony.

He also accused Thackeray of promoting enmity between two groups on grounds of religion, race and language. Sanjay Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP and Saamna editor, has also been made a co-accused in the case for publishing Thackeray's entire speech in the paper.

The case is likely to come up for hearing before the trial court on September 27.