Controversy over Shanti Bhushan's 'forged' article

A Delhi-based newspaper on Friday found itself in an embarrassing situation as it inadvertently published a “forged” article believing that it was written by prominent lawyer Shanti Bhushan.

Mail Today, the newspaper published from New Delhi and Chandigarh by the India Today Group, promptly apologised to Bhushan and filed a complaint with the Delhi Police.

The article published in the name of Bhushan was critical of Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, calling him a “a spoiler for the BJP bandwagaon in 2014 (Lok Sabha elections).
The publication of the article by the newspaper drew an angry retort from Bhushan, who is a prominent face of Kejriwal’s anti-corruption movement.

”It is a forged article. I have asked the editor of the daily to file an FIR to find out who is behind it. This is part of a big political conspiracy to discredit the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal. It is possible that a BJP member could be behind it,” said Bhushan, a former Union law minister.

Mail Today said they were filing an FIR to ascertain the facts and to see who is behind this mischief. “We have verbally apologised to Bhushan. We will be sending a formal apology to him. There was no malice or malafide in publishing the article,” it said.