"This is merely a ploy to throw me in jail," he said (File)
A Mumbai court has found Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, Sanjay Raut, guilty in a 2022 defamation case filed by Medha K. Somaiya wife of ex-BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, and awarded him 15 days' jail plus a fine of Rs 25,000, here on Thursday.
Shortly afterwards, Mr Raut moved an application before the court which suspended his jail sentence for 30 days to enable him to file an appeal and also granted him bail.
"Sanjay Raut has been convicted by the Metropolitan Magistrate, 25th Court, Mazgaon, in a defamation case filed by Medha Somaiya to 15 days in jail under IPC Section 500, and a fine of Rs 25,000 as compensation," said her lawyer Vivekanand Gupta in a statement.
The order came in the two-year-old libel suit filed by Medha Somaiya against Mr Raut, who had alleged a Rs 100-crore toilet construction scam in Mira Road (Thane), linked to a NGO run by the Somaiyas.
Reacting, Mr Raut said that he had merely raised pertinent questions based on certain official records which had raised doubts on the toilet construction issue, which was also endorsed by the ruling Mahayuti alliance leaders, plus it came up in the Assembly.
"So, where have I committed any defamation... This is merely a ploy to throw me in jail," said a grim Mr Raut after the court ruling, as the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies backed him.
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) Working President Supriya Sule and SS (UBT) Deputy Leader Sushma Andhare slammed the case as politically-motivated.
Among other things, Mr Raut had claimed that Medha Somaiya was involved in the scam after which she had lodged the libel case.
An elated Medha Somaiya and her husband Kirit Somaiya expressed their happiness over the verdict and said that their faith in the judiciary had been vindicated.
"I am an ordinary housewife, engaged in social service and educational activities, but will fight anyone who tries to harm my family members. I am satisfied by the court's verdict. It will prevent others from making such absurd allegation," Medha Somaiya told mediapersons.
In 2022, Mr Raut had accused Medha Somaiya and her family members of the alleged scam and claimed he had documentary evidence to back it up, but failed to produce the same.
The Somaiyas first lodged a complaint with the Mulund Police Station and then filed a defamation suit in the Mazagaon Metropolitan Magistrate Court, challenging Mr Raut's allegations and emphatically declared that "not even a single rupee scam has been committed".
The Mahayuti allies Shiv Sena-BJP-Nationalist Congress Party have welcomed the court verdict, while the Opposition MVA partners Congress-NCP (SP)-SS (UBT) have flayed the developments, terming it as politically-motivated ahead of the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)