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

A Mumbai court on Thursday sentenced Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut to 15 days simple imprisonment in a defamation complaint filed against him by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's wife Medha Somaiya.

The metropolitan magistrate (Sewree court) convicted the Rajya Sabha member under Indian Penal Code Section 500 (punishment for defamation) and also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

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

She said Raut had accused them of being involved in a Rs 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," the complaint had stated.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)