India, Feb. 27 -- In a setback to BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's family, a sessions court on Thursday acquitted Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut in a criminal defamation case filed by Somaiya's wife, Medha Somaiya, and set aside his 15-day jail sentence imposed by a magistrate last year.

Additional sessions judge Mahesh Jadhav overturned the September 26, 2025 order of a Mazgaon magistrate court that had convicted Raut under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal defamation and directed him to pay Rs.25,000 as compensation to the complainant.

The case stemmed from statements Raut made at a press conference on April 15, 2022, in which he alleged a Rs.100 crore scam in the construction of public toilets in the Mira-Bhayan...