Mumbai court acquits Sanjay Raut in defamation case filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's wife

Mumbai, Feb 26 (PTI) A sessions court here on Thursday acquitted Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut in a defamation case filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's wife Medha Somaiya.

Overturning a magistrate's ruling, Additional Sessions Judge Mahesh Jadhav held it cannot be proved that the alleged defamatory news article was published on the instructions of Raut. As executive editor of 'Saamana', Raut could not be held legally liable for every news item published, the court observed.

Medha Somaiya had claimed that Raut, a Rajya Sabha member, made baseless and completely defamatory allegations in the media against her and her husband, accusing them of being involved in a Rs 100 crore scam related to the construction of public toilets in Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation area.

On September 26 last year, a judicial magistrate held Raut guilty of defamation under Indian Penal Code section 500. Besides sentencing him to 15 days in jail, the court had also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000.

The Sena (UBT) leader later filed an appeal before the sessions court for cases against MPs and MLAs, challenging the magistrate's ruling.

During the final arguments earlier this month, Raut's lawyer Manoj Pingale said the articles in question did not defame anybody.

Senior advocate Laxman Kanal, representing Medha Somaiya, argued that an enquiry report had made it clear there was no scam as alleged by the Sena (UBT) MP.

The work was assigned through tender in 2007 to five NGOs, including one linked to the Somaiyas, and there could not have been a Rs 100 crore scam as the total value of the project was Rs 22 crore, Kanal said.

Additional Sessions Judge Jadhav in his ruling stated that it couldn't be proved that the article was published at his (Raut) instruction.

"On the contrary, evidence of defence witness Rajesh Powale (Saamana editor), it is proved beyond all reasonable doubt that he has edited the news," the court held.

Further, from the cross-examination it is brought on record by the complainant that Powale has verified the said news on the basis of a letter of MLA Pratap Sarnaik and report submitted by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation commissioner, the court said.

The sessions judge highlighted that the magistrate did not consider these important aspects and "held that the accused published the said news." The lower court ignored the evidence of Powale, who being editor is liable for the news published in the paper, the sessions judge said in the order.

Judge Jadhav, citing a Supreme court ruling, clarified Raut being executive editor cannot be held liable for the news published in Saamana under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867.

The court further asserted that the complainant failed to prove Raut was responsible for news articles published in other publications.

On the contention that the allegation lowered her image in public, the court underscored that some of the complainant's own witnesses admitted during cross-examination that their opinion of Medha Somaiya remained unchanged despite the allegations.

A witness in the cross-examination admits that Medha Somaiya's image in her mind is the same as it was 25 years ago, the court cited.

The sessions judge reflected that the magistrate court gave much reliance on Raut's statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to hold him guilty.

The judge emphasized that the object of Section 313 is only to give chance to the accused to explain about the incriminating circumstances against him and it cannot be the basis of conviction.

The complainant's case has to stand on its own legs and cannot take help of the accused to prove its case, the court said.

Thus, interference in the lower court's judgment is warranted, the sessions judge ruled while setting aside Raut's conviction. PTI AVI GK BNM