Mumbai court sentences Sanjay Raut to 15 days imprisonment in defamation case

A Mumbai court sentenced Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut to 15 days imprisonment in a defamation case filed by Medha Somaiya, wife of former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya.

Medha Somaiya, a professor of Organic Chemistry at Ruia College in Mumbai, had said in her complaint that Raut made baseless and completely defamatory allegations against her and her husband.

She had sought action against the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP for his allegations that she was involved in a Rs 100 crore toilet scam carried out by her and her NGO Yuva Pratishthan.

Raut was convicted under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code for defamation and sentenced to simple imprisonment for 15 days. A fine of Rs 25,000 was also imposed on him.

Medha Somaiya’s complaint, filed through advocate Vivekanand Gupta, stated that since April 2022, Raut had given “malicious and unwarranted mischievous statements” to the media against her and the same was printed, published, and circulated to the public at large through electronic and print media. The malicious statements were also widely shared on social media platforms, she said in the complaint.

Raut’s lawyer and his brother Sunil Raut said that they have filed a bail plea and will appeal against the order in Mumbai Sessions court.

Magistrate Aarti Kulkarni then suspended Raut’s sentence for 30 days, and he furnished a bond of Rs 15,000 to walk out of court.

Speaking to the media outside the court, Sanjay Raut said that he was not the only one who made the allegations about Medha, and he accused her based on documents. However, he was facing flak “for political reasons”, he said, adding that the judiciary was being “saffronised”.

He added that that he still had faith in the judiciary and he would approach the Sessions court soon.