MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has been granted bail, hours after a magistrate’s court in Mumbai convicted him in a defamation case filed by Medha Somaiya, the wife of former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya. Raut’s sentence was also suspended for 30 days, granting him time to file an appeal.
Lawyer Vivekanand Gupta, representing Medha Somaiya, said Raut was found guilty under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the magistrate court in Mazgaon.
The court has sentenced Raut to 15 days imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000, Gupta said.
Reacting to the news, Raut said: “How can people like us who raise their voices against corruption and other irregularities get a justice in a country when Prime Minister of the country goes to chief justice’s house to have Modaks during Ganpati festival?”
He added, “The judgement was expected. I respect the judiciary and the judge who passed this order, but I had said that there was some work done in Mira Bhayandar municipal corporation through a Yuvak Pratisyhan and there were some irregularities there. I had not said this. The civic body’s leader of opposition Pravin Patil had made the allegations through a letter written to the then Chief minister. The local MLA Pratap Sarnaik had also raised the issue and demanded an inquiry. An order was also passed in the House. So, when I just reiterate this, how can it be defamation? This all is on record. There is also a report of the civic body on it. I only raised some questions on it. This person (Somaiya) also keeps levelling allegations… But one thing is there that there is a centralisation of the judiciary in the country.”
The case is related to a complaint filed by Medha, a professor of organic chemistry, in which she said Raut had made statements about her on April 15 and April 16, 2022, carried in newspapers, which were defamatory and incorrect. She had submitted documents and video clips claiming that the statements were made by Raut to media channels.
Medha had also sought an unconditional apology and a permanent injunction against Raut, restraining him from publishing, circulating, and printing material defamatory to her, in the future.
In her plea, she said that an article in Sena’s mouthpiece newspaper Saamana accused the Somaiyas of a “toilet scam” in the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation. She said the allegations in the article and other media after the story was published in Saamana were without proof and made with an intention to malign her reputation.
The court issued a summons against Raut in June 2022. The magistrate court reserved the case for judgment earlier on Thursday.
Raut’s lawyers are likely to move court on Thursday to seek suspension of the sentence to give him time to appeal against the conviction.
Agencies

Agencies