Delhi HC dismisses plea by SMK's son-in-law

The Delhi High Court has dismissed the appeal of V G Siddhartha, son-in-law of former chief minister S M Krishna, in a defamation case filed against former Karnataka DG&IGP C Dinakar.

A division bench comprising Justices Gita Mittal and J R Midha on September 26 imposed a cost of Rs 75,000 on Siddhartha, payable to Dinakar. The case relates to Dinakar’s book ‘Veerappan’s Prize Catch: Rajkumar’.

The book narrates the events relating to Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar’s kidnap by the forest brigand in 2000. Dinakar was then DG&IGP and Krishna the chief minister. The book was published in November 2002.

Siddhartha had filed a civil suit in the Delhi High Court on November 30, 2002, stating that certain passages in the book defamed him and prayed for passing a decree of Rs 50 lakh, by paying a court fee of Rs 51,144. Justice Shiv Narayan Dhingra had dismissed the suit on February 21, 2007, as being frivolous and awarded a cost of Rs one lakh payable by Siddhartha. On July 22, 2007, Siddhartha filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court.