Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya's wife, Medha, filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut in Bombay High Court on Monday, 23 May.
According to the suit, an article in Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamana, published on 12 April, accused Medha, a professor of organic chemistry, of being involved in a Rs 100-crore toilet scam in the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation.
Other media publications later picked up the news, the suit said. Raut is Saamana's executive editor.
In her suit, Medha has demanded that Raut either pay her the amount or deposit it with the Maharashtra chief minister's relief fund, reported India Today. The petition said that Raut "concocted only to indulge in some sensationalism, without any regard for truth and with a view to tarnish her image and to make wrongful gains".
"Medha Somaiya is a doctorate and carries a high reputation in society and in her profession," it said. "The defamatory materials have hurt her tremendously by lowering her standing in society and in the eyes of the general public, well-wishers, etc."
She has sought an unconditional apology and a permanent injunction against, prohibiting him and his associates from commenting, printing, circulating, distributing or republishing content that is allegedly defamatory to her.
She has also asked Raut to publish an apology in Saamana and retract the allegations published in it.
Seeking criminal action, Medha had approached the Mulund police and sent a notice to Raut last month.
(With inputs from The Indian Express and India Today.)
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