Non-bailable warrant against Sanjay Raut cancelled after he appears before court in defamation case filed by Medha Somaiya

A Magistrate court on Friday issued a non-bailable warrant against Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut for not attending proceedings in a defamation complaint filed against him by Medha Somaiya, the wife of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. However, later in the day, Raut appeared before the court and the warrant was cancelled.

Earlier, a warrant was issued by the Sewri metropolitan magistrate against Raut after it recorded the statement of the complainant. As it turned out that Raut was not present and the application for exemption from court hearing was rejected, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. The court then adjourned the hearing to January 24 when the statement of the complainant will continue.

Speaking to media persons, Raut said, “I had some other matter in the Bombay High Court. Due to traffic, I could not attend the Sewri court proceedings.” However, later in the day he appeared before the court.

Story continues below this ad

Somaiya had moved the court claiming that Raut made “baseless and defamatory” allegation that she and her husband were involved in a Rs 100-crore scam related to the construction and maintenance of public toilets in Mira-Bhayander area near Mumbai.

She sought the registration of a case against Sanjay Raut, who belongs to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, under Section 499 (criminal defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).