Raut summoned over ‘defamatory’ statements against BJP leader’s wife

She submitted documents and video clips claiming that the statements were made by Raut to media channels.

Sanjay Raut (File)

Issuing summons to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut in connection with a defamation complaint filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s wife, a metropolitan magistrate has said that documents and video clips prima facie reveal that Raut made statements harming her reputation.

The court had on Thursday issued the summoning process against Raut for alleged defamation, directing him to remain present on July 4. Somaiya’s wife, Medha, a professor of organic chemistry, had said Raut had made statements on April 15 and April 16, which were published in newspapers and were defamatory and incorrect.

She submitted documents and video clips claiming that the statements were made by Raut to media channels.

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“These documents and video clips produced on record prima facie reveal that the accused had made defamatory statements against the complainant (Medha) on April 15 and April 16, so that it will be seen by the public at large and read in the newspapers. 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,” the court said.

Filing a defamation suit against Raut, Medha had sought an unconditional apology and a permanent injunction against the Sena MP, restraining him from publishing, circulating and printing material defamatory to her in the future. In her plea, she alleged that an article in Sena’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ accused the Somaiyas of a “toilet scam” in the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation. She said the allegations in the article and other media which carried reports on the ‘Saamana’ piece are without proof and with an intention to malign her reputation.

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