Delhi HC dismisses TMC MP Saket Gokhale’s plea to recall defamation damages

The Delhi high court on Friday refused to recall its order directing Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale to apologise and pay ₹50 lakh in damages to Union minister Hardeep Puri’s wife Lakshmi Puri in a defamation case.

A bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav also rejected Gokhale’s application seeking to condone the delay in filing the application.

“We have to reject both the applications,” Justice Kaurav said while pronouncing the verdict.

The order was passed in July last year in connection with the suit filed by Lakshmi Puri, a former diplomat who served as India’s assistant secretary-general to the United Nations, after taking offence to a series of posts Gokhale put out against her on social media platform X in 2021.

The posts raised questions in the context of an apartment owned by her and had also sought an inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the assets involving the Puri couple.

Also Read: Delhi HC: Portion of Saket Gokhale’s MP salary to be attached in defamation case

The order comes days after a coordinate bench of the high court had directed for attachment of a portion of the parliamentarian’s salary for his failure to comply with the July directive.

A bench of Justice Manmeet PS Arora on April 22 had opined that the parliamentarian had failed to give a “reasonable explanation” for non-compliance.

Justice Kaurav’s order was passed in a plea filed by Gokhale seeking recall of the July directions.

In his plea, Gokhale had asserted that the same was passed ex-parte without affording him an opportunity of being heard. He further submitted that although he had engaged a lawyer to represent him in the defamation suit, the counsel stopped appearing without his knowledge, even as he remained under the impression that the matter was being contested.

The MP’s application further stated that it was not possible for him to personally track the proceedings, since he was engrossed in various cases filed against him in Gujarat and no formal notice was issued to him to indicate non appearance of his lawyer. He went on to add that the objectionable tweets were removed on the first date of hearing and he did not have sufficient funds to afford the services of a lawyer to challenge the order or file the recall application within the period of limitation.

Puri, who was represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh and Meghna Mishra, senior partner at Karanjawala & Company, had claimed that Gokhale willfully chose to not comply with the directive.

On April 16, had reserved verdict in Gokhale’s petition seeking recall of July 1 order.

Gokhale at that time had expressed his willingness to settle issues with Puri, but the latter’s counsel refused the settlement offer, contending that the Rajya Sabha member had defamed her without any basis.