A metropolitan magistrate court in Mumbai Thursday sentenced Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and editor of party mouthpiece, ‘Saamna’, to 15 days imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 in a case filed by Medha Somaiya, wife of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.

Judicial magistrate Aarti Kulkarni found Raut guilty under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Raut was, however, granted bail by the court and his sentence was suspended for a month to allow him to file an appeal before the sessions court.

The court said the fine amount recovered from Raut be given to Medha as compensation, as per provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. It said that in case Raut fails to pay the amount, he shall suffer simple imprisonment for three months.

In April 2022, Medha Somaiya, a professor of organic chemistry, approached the court alleging that an article in ‘Saamna’ accused the Somaiyas of a “toilet scam” in the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation.

In her complaint Medha Somaiya said the allegations in the article were without proof and made with an intention to malign her reputation. The article accused her of building unauthorised toilets by cutting mangroves, without getting the requisite permissions from environmental authorities. The article further alleged that the Somaiyas’ NGO, Yuva Pratishthan, had indulged in corruption.

Her complaint also said that Raut had addressed the media on April 15, 2022, and next day gave statements to TV channels widely which were telecast live. The statements were also carried by other newspapers and went viral on social media. In her complaint she said that the statements without any proof indicated an “irresponsible attitude” by an MP to falsely portray her as a fraudster.

Her lawyer Vivekanand Gupta had argued that Medha Somaiya was a respectable professional who worked as professor of organic chemistry and who was associated with prestigious institutions like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences before her retirement. She also has a doctorate in slum development which helps her in her charitable work. Gupta also said that Raut had other similar cases against him too and sought the maximum punishment of two years.

“I am happy that I have got justice and the allegations against me and my family members are proven to be false. I fought to get justice and did it like any other woman would have done. I think the court has respected my position as a teacher and a social worker.  This case against Raut would set an example for society. If someone tries to tarnish me or my organisation, I will stand up against it," said Medha Somaiya.

After the conviction, Raut moved a bail plea before the court and also sought time to appeal. The court then granted bail to Raut and suspended the sentence for 30 days. His lawyer Manoj Pingale said that once the detailed order copy is received from the court, an appeal against it will be filed in the sessions court, likely by Monday.

Kirit Somaiya alleged that police had refused to accept his wife's complaint against Raut under pressure from the then Uddhav Thackeray government. “Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister of Maharashtra when Sanjay Raut levelled allegations of Rs 100 crore corruption against me and my wife who runs Yuva Pratishthan. The original tender amount was Rs 3.61 crore,” he said.

The former BJP MP also alleged that Raut levelled 27 different allegations against him and his family during February-July 2022 but never produced a single document to support them.

After the verdict, Raut said that whatever he had said was in public interest. “If I am getting information about corruption, then as an MP, as an editor of a newspaper and the leader of Shiv Sena, it is my duty to speak about it.”