MUMBAI, July 17 -- The sessions court on Wednesday dismissed a plea by BJP Member of Parliament (MP) Narayan Rane, who had sought to quash the summons issued to him in a defamation case filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. The case relates to Rane's comments during a speech at the Konkan Festival in Bhandup on January 15, 2023, where he allegedly questioned the legitimacy of Raut's candidature in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. Raut's name was not in the voters' list at the time and he "made a setting and spent money for the same", the BJP MP allegedly said, which as per Raut was defamatory and damaging to his reputation. In an order dated April 23, the Mazgaon court had held that a prima facie case under section 500 (criminal defamation) of the Indian Penal Code had been made out. Raut had submitted supporting materials which captured the allegedly defamatory remarks, the magistrate had observed. The remarks "were made only to tarnish the image of the complainant in the eyes of the general public", and they had been communicated widely through print and electronic media, the court had said while issuing summons to Rane. In his revision plea, Rane contended that the magistrate's order was "illegal, perverse and bad in law", and argued that the complaint was politically motivated. He submitted that the remarks were part of political discourse between long-standing rivals and there was no intention to cause reputational harm. Rane also pointed to a delay of three months to file the complaint, which he said indicated the complaint was an afterthought. However, the sessions court found no merit in Rane's arguments and upheld the magistrate's order, clearing the way for trial proceedings to continue....