Kirit Somaiya’s wife files defamation suit against Sanjay Raut

Mr. Raut had alleged that the Somaiya couple is involved in Rs 100-crore scam by misusing funds for building toilets

Bharatiya Janata Party’s leader Kirit Somaiya’s wife has filed a defamation suit in the Bombay High Court against Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.

Professor Medha Somaiya, who teaches in a college affiliated with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), has filed a civil suit of ₹100 crore and asked that Mr. Raut either be ordered to pay or deposit the amount in the chief minister’s relief fund as damages.

Mr. Raut had alleged in Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece Saamna that the couple is involved in a ₹100-crore scam by misusing the funds collected through Ms. Somaiya’s NGO to build toilets in Mira Bhayandar area.

The suit seeks an apology and a retraction of the allegations and accusation made in defamatory articles/materials published in Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece.

In a plea filed on Monday, Ms. Somaiya said that on April 12, 2022, she came across a newspaper article published by Saamna, accusing her of a “toilet scam”. She said that Mr. Raut had made these allegations without any proof to malign her reputation.

She has also filed a criminal complaint against Mr. Raut in the Mazgaon magistrate’s court.