Delhi HC orders TMC MP Saket Gokhale to pay ₹50 lakh in Puri defamation case

The Delhi high court on Monday directed Trinamool Congress (TMC) member of Parliament (MP) Saket Gokhale to pay ₹50 lakh as damages to Union minister Hardeep Puri’s wife and former Indian diplomat Lakshmi Puri for allegedly posting defamatory tweets against her and raising questions about an apartment that she had purchased in Switzerland.

A bench of justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani also directed Gokhale to publish an apology on his X account and in Times of India saying that Puri had suffered irreparable harm on account of the statements.

The court further directed the TMC MP to retain the apology published on his account for six months and restrained him from publishing defamatory content against Lakshmi Puri in future.

In a series of tweets tagging Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2021, Gokhale had also sought an inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the assets of the Puri couple.

Puri approached the Delhi high court in 2021 seeking to direct Gokhale to immediately take down the tweets and restrain him from publishing further tweets containing allegations against her or her family members. In her suit filed through Karanjawala and Co, Puri also sought an apology from him, along with ₹5 crore in damages, to be deposited in the PM Cares fund.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh appeared for Puri.

In July 2021, the high court had directed Gokhale to delete the defamatory tweets saying that he should have conducted due diligence or sought clarifications before posting the tweets.