Contempt Petition Filed Against Sanjay Raut For Levelling Allegations Against HC Judges 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, and Saamna Editor Rashmi Thackeray have also been made respondents by the petitioner.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut (Getty Image)

New Delhi: A contempt petition-cum-public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed against Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and others for levelling allegations against judges of Bombay High Court.

The PIL against Raut was filed by the Indian Bar Association that said "false, scandalous and contemptuous allegations" has been levelled against judges of Bombay High Court by the Sena leader, reported news agency ANI.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, and Saamna Editor Rashmi Thackeray have also been made respondents by the petitioner.

According to a statement released by the Indian Bar Association, the main reason for filing the petition was the allegation of bias levelled against Bombay High Court Judges and the entire judiciary by Raut in granting relief to BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.

"As per Sanjay Raut, the courts, on one hand, granted relief to people related with BJP but not granting relief to the accused belonging to Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) etc. His indication was towards the no relief by the courts to the jailed Ministers Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh," the statement read, as reported by ANI.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya was granted interim protection from arrest by the Bombay High Court in the alleged financial bungling of over Rs 57 crore collected to save decommissioned naval aircraft carrier Vikrant.

The order by the court prompted Sena leader Raut level allegations of bias against the judges after which the Indian Bar Association filed the PIL.

The  Trombay Police, on the complaint of a former soldier Baban Bhosle, has filed a case against Kirit Somaiya and son Neil Somaiya under Sections 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for misappropriation of funds collected to save the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.