JOIN USTwo media organisations, The Times Group and the Financial Express, which received defamation notices from IT behemoth Infosys early this week are gearing up to respond on the same without stipulating any time-frame, said sources close to these organisations on Thursday.
Infosys, the country's second biggest IT company had on Monday served defamation notices to three leading newspapers and journalists for what it claimed was loss of reputation and goodwill due to circulation of “defamatory” articles. This is the first instance of the company filing a defamation case against the media since its inception in 1981.
Infosys claimed damages of Rs 2,000 crore from each of the three publications and called for retraction of articles covering its operations in their online editions as well as apologies to the effect.
When contacted, Infosys sources said that the company had “served a notice on the Times of India, the Economic Times and the Financial Express to cease and desist from defaming the company.
The notice speaks for itself and we will act on it”. Sources in the Times Group and Financial Express said that a response to the Infosys notice had been drafted by their companies rebutting the former’s claims of defaming it.
“We will take our time in responding to these charges, which are without basis,” they said.
The three newspapers were given 45 hours to remove such articles from their websites and other media and issue an unconditional apology.
A senior Times Group executive, attached to its legal department, said that his was not in a hurry to frame a response. “There is no urgency on our part and will definitely give the reply soon. We stand by our stories. They are factual, balanced and fully substantiated by quotes,” he said.
Both media organisations have not removed the content from their website at the time of this report going to press.
Meanwhile, former chief financial officer at Infosys T V Mohandas Paik responded on micromanaging site Twitter about the lawsuit, stating, “Should not have done it, bad form.”