A sessions court in Mumbai granted bail to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut today (October 25) as he challenged his conviction in a defamation case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya's wife Medha Somaiya.
Raut has filed a revision application in the sessions court against his conviction and the 15-day jail sentence awarded by a magistrate's court. The Rajya Sabha member appeared before the court on Friday and sought bail. The court granted him bail in the sum of Rs 50,000.
Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Aarti Kulkarni on September 26 held Raut guilty of defamation under Indian Penal Code section 500. Besides sentencing him to 15 days in jail, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.
Medha Somaiya had claimed that Raut made baseless and defamatory allegations in the media against her and her husband, accusing them of being involved in a Rs 100 crore scam related to the construction of public toilets in Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation area.
"As Raut appeared in person, we did not oppose his bail application, following which the court granted it," said advocate Laxman Kanal, Somaiya's lawyer.
Know more about the defamation case
In May 2022, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's wife Medha Kirit Somaiya had filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against Sanjay Raut in the Bombay High Court.Raut has accused Medha Kirit Somaiya and her husband of being allegedly involved in a Rs 100 crore scam in the construction of public toilets in the area under the jurisdiction of Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation.
Medha Somaiya registered a complaint against Raut stating that the accused made malicious and unwarranted statements against the complainant in the media.
"I state that the accused Sanjay Raut is Executive Editor of Marathi Newspaper "SAAMANA" and is also the chief spokesman of Shivsena, a political party. I say that the accused around 16th April, 2022 and thereafter made malicious and unwarranted mischievous statements against me in the media, the same which was printed, published and circulated to the general public at large through electronic and print media. The said malicious statements were also viral on social media platforms," she had said in her complaint.
