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Former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Lakshmi Puri has moved the Delhi High Court against TMC leader Saket Gokhale, accusing him of failing to comply with a court order that required him to issue an apology on social media and pay Rs 50 lakh in damages in a defamation case.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora issued a notice on Puri's plea, which seeks the enforcement of the judgment passed on July 1, 2024. Additionally, the court directed Gokhale to submit an affidavit disclosing all his assets, properties, and bank accounts within the next four weeks. The court has scheduled the next hearing for February 5, 2025. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh (Former ASG) appeared on behalf of Lakshmi M. Puri in the case. In July's Order, the Delhi High Court had directed AITMC MP Saket Gokhaleto to pay Rs 50 lakh damages to Lakshmi Puri in her defamation suit against him. The court also asked Gokhale to post an apology in the Times of India and on his Twitter handle. "The apology on the Twitter handle should stay for six months," the court added. This suit arises from defamation against plaintiff Lakshmi Puri, wherein defendant Saket Gokhale published defamatory tweets or posts regarding the plaintiff's integrity. The court while passing judgment, said, "The plaintiff has suffered irreparable harm on account of Defendant No. 1, i.e., Saket Gokhale's defamatory statements and is directed to give an apology to the plaintiff, which shall be published on Defendant No. 1's X account and in Times of India." Further, the tweet published on the defendant X account shall be retained for a period of 6 months. "Gokhale is restrained from publishing further defamatory content against the plaintiff. Damages to the tune of Rs 50,00,000 are awarded to the plaintiff for the harm caused to her reputation," the court added. The bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani while passing the Judgement observed that no amount of monetary award can truly compensate for damage to reputation, however upon a balance of all considerations, Sanket Gokhle is directed to pay to the plaintiff damages in the sum of Rs 50 lakhs within eight weeks. According to Puri's petition, in a series of tweets dated June 13, 2021 and June 23, 2021, defendant Gokhale made false and scurrilous allegations against plaintiff Puri along with her husband they they had purchased a "house" in Geneva, Switzerland in the year 2006 with "black money". Defendant, Gokhale, in one of his tweets has referred to "Swiss bank accounts" and "foreign black money" and tagged the Union Finance Minister to order a money-laundering inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate against the plaintiff and her husband, the petition said. (ANI)
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