Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut has moved a Mumbai court against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya for allegedly posting derogatory statements against Raut on his official Twitter account.
The criminal defamation complaint filed by the Rajya Sabha MP alleged that since 2022, Somaiya has been posting defamatory tweets against him without any documentary proof.
It alleged that the tweets, which were still available on Somaiya’s page, were an attempt to malign Raut’s reputation in the eyes of society and the public at large.
Terming it as character assassination without any proof, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader accused Somaiya of defaming his character by way of such ‘slanderous,’ ‘libellous’ and ‘mischievous’ statements and also disrupting the goodwill he had earned in the society after years of hard work.
The editor of Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ further alleged that Somaiya’s statements were destructive and showed the ‘irresponsible attitude’ of the BJP leader.
Filed in the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate at Mulund, Mumbai under Section 190 of CrPC, the complaint sought prosecution of Somaiya under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. It further sought direction to summon the BJP leader as an accused in the case.
As per Raut, he had authored several books, including one on Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, which was also made into a biopic titled ‘Thackeray’.
He further stated that he has over 1.2 million followers on Twitter as against Somaiya’s 3.91 lakh.
The complaint alleged that Somaiya called Raut ‘corrupt’ and also posted a tweet related to the time he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Patra Chawl scam case.
Special Judge M.G. Deshpande at a Mumbai court in Maharashtra had granted bail to Raut on November 9 last year in a case related to the redevelopment of a chawl in Mumbai.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Raut on July 31, 2022 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), after questioning him in the re-development of Patra chawl and related transactions involving his wife and associates.