I am of the prima facie opinion that slanderous charges were made against the plaintiff without checking actual facts, Justice Mini Pushkarna said in her ruling.
“Given the tweets and retweets that were posted in response to the defendants’ press conference, the plaintiff’s reputation has suffered severe harm.”
Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Netta D’souza, all leaders of the Congress, were served summonses by the Delhi High Court on Friday, July 29 in connection with a civil lawsuit brought by Smriti Irani, a member of the Union Cabinet. Aside from ordering the removal of the posts, videos, tweets, retweets, and modified images of the plaintiff and her daughter along with the claims, the court also ordered the leaders of Congress to stop spreading information about the accusations made against them. In a civil defamation lawsuit, Union Minister Smriti Irani is requesting a permanent injunction, which is essential, as well as damages of more than Rs 2 crore.
In her ruling, Justice Mini Pushkarna stated, “I am of the prima facie view that slanderous allegations were made against the plaintiff without verifying actual facts,” and she went on to say, “Grave injury has been caused to the reputation of the plaintiff in the view of the tweets and retweets carried out due to the press conference of the defendants.”
The balance of convenience is in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants since the plaintiff has established a prima facie case. I believe it is appropriate to issue a temporary restraining order ordering Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Netta D’souza to erase and take down the accusations made during the press conference from all social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Additionally, the court ordered these individuals to take down the posts, videos, tweets, retweets, morphed images of the plaintiff and her daughter, along with the allegations, and to stop their re-posting.The court further stated, “Defendants 4-6 (social media platforms) are required to take down the material if Defendants 1-3 fail to comply with the directives within 24 hours of this order.”
Smriti Irani, a Union Minister, filed a civil defamation lawsuit seeking a permanent and binding injunction as well as damages in excess of 2 crores of rupees. She claimed that Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Netta D’souza banded together with other unnamed people to make a series of harsh and combative personal remarks in an effort to smear and vilify a little child who even does not reside in the nation.
Congressman Jairam Ramesh tweeted on Friday regarding the proceedings at the Delhi High Court, saying, “The Delhi High Court has issued notice requiring us to formally reply to the complaint brought by Smriti Irani. We can’t wait to provide the judge the proof.The spin that Ms. Irani is putting out will be contested and refuted by us.
Congress had already requested the dismissal of Smriti Irani on July 23 due to allegations that her daughter was operating an illegal bar in Goa. Due to her outspoken stance in the National Herald-related money laundering case, the Union minister said that the “malicious” accusation was brought against her at the family’s request. She vowed to fight back and said that the Gandhi family was behind the accusation.
