In response to a defamation lawsuit brought by former Indian cricketer and current Bharatiya Janata Party MP Gautam Gambhir, who charged that the Hindi newspaper Punjab Kesari intentionally published false and defamatory articles against him and used defamatory language, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday served notice to the publication and others.
The Court, however, declined to provide temporary relief and said that no interim order had been made in the case today. The BJP lawmaker has asked the media outlet for both an unequivocal written apology and ad-interim relief.
The court also observed that even though some of the language used by Punjab Kesari in its reportage on him was objectionable, a public figure must have thick skin.”Any public person should be thick-skinned. With this social media and all even judges have to be thick-skinned,” the bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh stated.
In addition, the bench rejected the motion to have one of the news pieces removed since it purportedly used the phrase untouchable. The bench did note, nevertheless, that some of the terms or sentences used may not have been appropriate for the Hindi daily and that the stories emphasised by the plaintiff did give the appearance that the reporter was out to get him.
“If you read all the articles, it is my prima facie opinion that the reporter is behind this person. Some of the words and sentences that he has used is not proper for your paper,” the judge proclaimed.
The bench recognised throughout the arguments that the issue seems to merit examination and was scheduled to be heard before the Joint Registrar in August and the court in October.
The cricketer’s mentioned articles, according to his attorney Jai Anant Dehadrai, went beyond the bounds of fair and impartial reporting. “These two reporters, maybe at the behest of someone else, are targeting me. I ignored them on multiple occasions but this has been like a campaign,” he asserted.
“They are showing me as someone who is not interested in serving the people of my constituency and is busy with the IPL. One of the articles say that I practise untouchability,” the lawyer emphasised.
“If the reporter has gone to the area and found such comments being made then. You are a public servant, an elected person, you need not be so sensitive,” the justice responded.
The counsel submitted that he is requesting an injunction and instructions that the reporters use his client’s account when publishing reports, adding that this is the standard journalistic procedure.
“There can’t be a blanket order. What article is defamatory what is not? As per me, the first article is not defamatory. Any blanket order can’t be there,” the bench replied by rejecting the demand.
When senior attorney Rajshekhar Rao spoke on behalf of the newspaper and its editor, he claimed that the lawsuit had already been published on the Bar & Bench website before the case had even been considered in court. He argued that several other journals had published identical allegations about the politician, but he had only filed an opposition against Punjab Kesari.
The senior solicitor contended, “The difficulty is that this person decides to become an MP, he has decided to sail in two boats. They should explain, are they saying don’t report on me unless Gautam Gambhir likes it? My friend is so touchy about Punjab Kesari, why is he not so touchy about other publications.”
He proceeded by adding that while some of the terms may have been utilised more effectively, this does not constitute defamation. The bench then issued a notice about the application for an injunction after taking the arguments into account.
Background of the case
In the lawsuit filed against Punjab Kesari, its editor Aditya Chopra, and journalists Amit Kumar and Imran Khan, Gautam Gambhir said that they had abused their journalistic freedom by publishing multiple defamatory and libellous stories that were specifically directed at him.
He staked that the newspaper gave its stories a deceptive twist by citing a number of reports. It was alleged that one of the stories even went as far as to equate him to the fabled Hindu demon Bhasmasur.
Sansad Gautam Gambhir Lapata Gali-Gali Me Lage Poster (MP Gautam Gambhir goes missing, posters come up in streets), Dilli ke lapata Sansad Lucknow Super Giants ke liye bane Bhasmasur (Delhi’s missing MP becomes Bhasmasur for Lucknow Super Giants), Adesh Gupta bolte reh gaye, Gautam Gambhir uth chale (Adesh Gupta kept talking, Gautam Gambhir left) and Ye Naye Mijaz ke Sansad hai Jara Faaslo se Mila Karo (This is the MP of a new frame of mind, please keep distance while meeting him) were some of the reports mentioned in the suit.
He insisted that these reports gave readers a misleading and severely damaging impression of his work and credentials as a member of parliament. It was highlighted that the stories show him as a casteist and a haughty politician.
He has also demanded that 2 crores in damages be donated to charitable causes. Furthermore, he urged the defendants to provide an unqualified apology, which should be printed in all editions of Punjab Kesari (including digital ones).
Additionally, he argued that the paper should be given instructions to retract all of the negative articles that had been written about him.
