REGULATORY · INDIA
India defamation case appeal: Sanjay Raut acquitted in Medha Somaiya complaint
Change
A sessions court on February 26, 2026 allowed Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s revision application and acquitted him in the defamation case filed by Medha Somaiya, overturning a magistrate court conviction that had sentenced him to 15 days in jail.
Why it matters
The sessions court’s February 26, 2026 order grants Sanjay Raut relief in a criminal defamation matter brought by Medha Somaiya over media statements alleging her and her husband’s involvement in a ₹100 crore public-toilets construction scam in the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation area. The acquittal reverses the magistrate court’s earlier conviction and 15-day jail sentence, changing Raut’s near-term legal and political risk profile. For the complainant, the decision narrows leverage created by the conviction and shifts the dispute to any further appellate steps rather than sentence execution. The outcome also signals that the higher court did not sustain the lower court’s finding of defamation on the record presented in the revision.
Implications
- • Magistrate conviction and 15-day jail sentence against Raut no longer stand.
- • Defamation dispute shifts from sentence execution to post-acquittal legal options.
- • Public allegations tied to the ₹100 crore toilets-scam claim lose a conviction-backed finding.
Who is affected
- • Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena UBT MP; Rajya Sabha member)
- • Medha Somaiya (complainant)
- • Kirit Somaiya (BJP leader referenced in the allegations)
- • Courts handling criminal defamation appeals/revisions in Maharashtra
Source
Topics
Law & Public Safety Court Rulings Criminal Justice World & Politics Politics