A Delhi court has ruled that a woman is liable for defaming her ex-husband and has ordered her to pay ₹15 lakh in damages. Judge Sunil Beniwal of the Saket District Court concluded that the woman's actions harmed the man's reputation and professional growth. The court found that the defendant's libelous acts were supported by unchallenged electronic evidence, including emails and chats.

The case was initiated by the man, who accused his ex-wife of defamation and malicious litigation following their marriage in 2001 and subsequent separation in 2009. He claimed that she filed false allegations and prevented him from seeing their daughter. The man also cited defamatory emails sent to his employer, which contributed to his need for major surgery in 2022.

The husband stated that the wife left the matrimonial home in 2009 with their minor daughter and began to file frivolous and false litigations against him and his family members. He alleged that she used abusive and defamatory language against him and his mother in emails and chats with her friends. In 2021, their marriage was dissolved by a family court on the ground of cruelty under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Despite the divorce, he claimed that the ex-wife continued to defame him by sending malicious emails to his aged and ill maternal uncle, who was also his employer, causing significant distress and professional damage.

The woman argued that the suit filed by the husband was an afterthought to harass her and claimed it was barred by limitation, as it was based on chats from 2010 and emails sent in 2020. However, the court observed that she had taken contradictory stands for her convenience, particularly regarding the email IDs she used.

"It is observed that at Question no. 5 of the cross-examination, the defendant stated that she has only used one email ID to date, whereas in the very next question, she admitted that she had mentioned another email ID in her income affidavit in November 2017," the court noted.

The court found the suit within the period of limitation and held the woman liable, ordering her to pay ₹15 lakh in damages with 9% interest from the date of institution of the suit until payment. The ruling emphasized the significant injury to the man's reputation and professional life caused by the defamatory acts.

Advocate Minakshi Agarwal represented the husband, while advocate Fauzi Sayeed appeared for the wife.