Sanjay Raut gets 15-day jail in defamation case

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut was convicted on Thursday in connection with a defamation case filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s wife Dr Medha Kirit Somaiya. The Rajya Sabha member was convicted under Indian Penal Code Section 500 (punishment for defamation).

Vivekanand Gupta, advocate appearing for Somaiya, said that a Metropolitan Magistrate in Mazgaon convicted Sanjay Raut and imprisoned him for 15 days in connection with the case.

The court also imposed a fine of ₹25,0000 on him, news agency ANI reported.

Reacting to Raut’s conviction, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said, “Sanjay Raut has been sentenced to 15-day imprisonment, he has been taken into custody. ₹25,000 fine has been imposed on him. He will have to pay this sum to complainant Prof. Dr. Medha Somaiya.”

What’s the defamation case against Sanjay Raut

Medha Somaiya had filed a complaint through advocate Vivekanand Gupta, alleging that Sanjay Raut made baseless and completely defamatory allegations against her and her husband.

She said Raut had accused them of being involved in a ₹100 crore scam over the construction and maintenance of some public toilets under the jurisdiction of the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation.

“The statements made by the accused to the media are per se defamatory. The statements have been made to malign my character in the eyes of the general public,” news agency PTI reported while citing the complaint.

Earlier on September 23, a special court had dismissed the joint appeal of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut against a magistrate’s order refusing to discharge them in a seperate defamation case filed by former Lok Sabha MP Rahul Shewale.

Denying their revision application, special judge for cases against MPs and MLAs, AU Kadam, directed that the case be sent to the trial (magistrate) court for further proceedings, PTI reported.

Shewale, part of the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, sought action against Thackeray and Raut under Indian Penal Code section 500 (defamation) for publishing “defamatory articles” against him in the Marathi and Hindi editions of Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

As per Shewale’s plea, filed in January last year through advocate Chitra Salunkhe, the articles were “concocted” and “devoid of any merit”.