Court issues process against Sanjay Raut in defamation case by Kirit Somaiya’s wife

Issuance of process marks the beginning of criminal proceedings before a magistrate court in non-cognisable cases.

Mumbai: A metropolitan magistrate court at Mazgaon on Thursday issued a process against Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on a criminal defamation complaint filed by Medha Somaiya, the wife of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, for making malicious statements that she was involved in ₹100-crore “toilet fraud.”

Somaiya filed the criminal case after she came across the allegedly defamatory article in Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Saamana (HT PHOTO)

“These documents and video clips produced on record prima facie reveal that has made defamatory statements against the complainant on 15/04/2022 and 16/04/2022,” said metropolitan magistrate PI Mokashi.

“It is also prima facie proved by the complainant that the words spoken by accused Sanjay Raut were such that it has harmed the reputation of the complainant,” he added while issuing a process against Raut.

Issuance of process marks the beginning of criminal proceedings before a magistrate court in non-cognisable cases.

Somaiya filed the criminal case after she came across the allegedly defamatory article in Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Saamana, wherein she was accused of building unauthorised toilets by cutting mangroves, without getting the requisite permissions from environmental authorities.

The article further stated that she was involved in a ₹100 crore scam, allegedly perpetuated through their NGO, Yuva Pratishthan.

Apart from the article, she alleged, Raut also spoke to electronic media and repeated the allegations the next day, April 16, and also submitted video clips of the same in support of her claims.

She said the allegations were widely telecast by leading news channels and were made only with an intention to tarnish the image of the complainant, who has worked as a professor of organic chemistry and has been associated with prestigious institutions like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

The case will be next heard on July 4.