Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut, despite being a Member of Parliament (MP) from whom "high degree of responsibility" is expected, did not take "care and caution" while making certain statements, stated a Mumbai court while convicting him in a defamation case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya's wife Medha.

Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Aarti Kulkarni had last week convicted Raut for an offense committed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 500 (defamation). The Rajya Sabha MP was sentenced to 15 days in jail and fined Rs 25,000. However, the court later suspended the sentence for one month, enabling him to challenge the order in a higher court, news agency PTI reported.