Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut was released on bail Thursday after being convicted in a defamation case under section 503 of the Indian Penal Code by the his wife Medha Somaiya filed a complaint of defamation against him. The court convicted Raut to 15 days of simple imprisonment with added a penalty of INR 25000. He was convicted for an offence under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, which is for defamation. But the court also allowed him 30 days suspension of the sentence for purposes of an appeal. Such an applicant’s lawyer then filled in both suspension and bail applications, which were granted by the court.
The defamation case was lodged by Medha Somaiya who alleged that Raut posted defamatory remarks against her and her husband in relation to an alleged scam of construction and maintenance of public toilets under Mira bhyander Municipal Corporation to the tune of INR 100 crore. In the compliant filed through advocate Vivekanand Gupta, Medha Somaiya has said, ‘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 ”.
Reacting to the court’s verdict on Saturday, Kirit Somaiya said to focus on the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, who had led Raut to make such statements. Current days the punishment has been imposed upon Uddhav Thackeray because Sanjay Raut is a leader of his party. They both are now exposed,” Somaiya said. He also said that judiciary going easy on Raut was because this was the first of its kind offence by Raut but if he repeats such a thing he will be liable to penalty from 2 years to 5 years.
Somaiya also pointed an accusing finger at the former Maharashtra government headed by the then CM Uddhav Thackeray for using its muscle on the police to shunt aside his wife’s complaint.
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