Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale ordered to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages in defamation case
Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale ordered to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages in defamation case
The Delhi High Court on Monday ordered Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale to publish an apology and pay Rs 50 lakh in damages to former Indian Assistant Secretary-General to the United Nations, Lakshmi Puri, in her defamation suit against him.
In his tweets on June 13 and 26, 2021, Saket Gokhale made reference to property purchased by Lakshmi Puri in Switzerland and referred to her husband, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
Lakshmi Puri accused Gokhale of making false allegations and filed a defamation suit against him.
In its order, the High Court said that Gokhale's tweets have diminished and harmed the position Lakshmi Puri has earned in society.
"Though today Puri may not be performing any public function or formal role in public life, persons of her stature and achievement are held in high esteem as public intellectuals who have served the nation and as role-models for others who may wish to emulate them. The contents of the offending tweets have diminished and harmed that position, which the plaintiff has earned for herself in society," the court noted.
These allegations, the court said, may dent the very foundations of a person's reputation, especially if the person is "closely associated with another person who occupies high public office".
"In the present case, the false contents of the offending tweets would, without a shred of doubt, have found their way into the official ecosystem in which the plaintiff moves about, and in which her husband functions. People who matter are likely to have formed opinions in relation to the plaintiff (and her husband) based on what was contained in the offending tweets," the court stated.
The High Court also noted that Gokhale's conduct after the offending tweets, despite being cautioned of the falsity of their content, has been "less than responsible or remorseful".
"Instead, Gokhale has chosen to persist in his stand, and indifference displayed by him in the course of the present proceedings, is self-evident," the court stated.
The High Court also stated that while the damage caused to the "plaintiff's reputation by the offending tweets cannot be effaced completely", the least that is required from Gokhale is to express "unreserved and unconditional apology".
The court directed Gokhale to publish an apology on his X handle and also prominently in the Times of India newspaper.
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