The Delhi High Court issued a ruling on Monday directing Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale to issue an apology and compensate former Indian Assistant Secretary-General to the United Nations, Lakshmi Puri, with Rs 50 lakh in damages as part of her defamation lawsuit against him.
Saket Gokhale's tweets on June 13 and 26, 2021, mentioned property purchases by Lakshmi Puri in Switzerland and referenced her husband, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Lakshmi Puri subsequently accused Gokhale of spreading false allegations and filed a defamation suit against him.
The High Court's order stated that Saket Gokhale's tweets have significantly damaged the reputation and standing that Lakshmi Puri has established 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.
"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 observed that Saket Gokhale's behavior following the controversial tweets, despite being informed of their factual inaccuracies, was deemed "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 emphasized that while the harm caused to the plaintiff's reputation by the tweets cannot be fully undone, it mandated that Saket Gokhale must issue an "unreserved and unconditional apology" as a minimum requirement.
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