15 Days Jail, Rs 25,000 Fine For Sanjay Raut In Defamation Case

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has been sentenced to to 15 days of imprisonment in a defamation case filed by Medha Somaiya, wife of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya.

The Metropolitan Magistrate's 25th Court in Mazgaon has imposed Rs 25,000 fine on Raut.

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," the complaint said.

Somaiya had moved the court claiming that Raut made baseless and defamatory allegations that she and her husband were involved in a Rs 100 crore scam related to the construction and maintenance of public toilets in Mira Bhayander area near Mumbai.

She has sought the registration of a case against Raut, who belongs to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, under Indian Penal Code section 499 (criminal defamation).