JOIN USDefamation case: Adani claims journalist's report tarnishes firm's image
Opposing a petition moved by senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta facing criminal defamation case, the Adani Power Ltd (APL), a part of Gautam Adani led Adani Group, has said in an affidavit filed in Gujarat High Court on Wednesday that due to Guha's articles, "viewed by public at large", the company has "suffered injury on its reputation" and they have also "tarnished the image of Prime Minister's Office" by publishing a photo of the Prime Minister with Adani chairman Gautam Adani.
The affidavit was filed in response to Thakurta's petition seeking transfer of criminal defamation case to Ahmedabad from Mundra, Kutch district, where APL has filed its case. Thakurta has stated in the petition that since civil defamation cases have been filed in Ahmedabad, this criminal case should also be moved to Ahmedabad, besides the fact that Adani Group's office is situated in Ahmedabad. The senior journalist has also cited his ill-health as one of the grounds for shifting the case to Ahmedabad.
Opposing the petition, the affidavit says that "the cause of action for civil suits is entirely different from the cause of action for criminal defamation proceedings faced by the petitioner herein...The deponent (APL) submits that the petitioner, though was one of the party defendants in two civil suits, has not even bothered to obtain details of the civil suits and check the averments with regard to jurisdiction and the laws pertaining to civil suit jurisdiction vis-a-vis criminal defamation..."
The affidavit, filed by Malav Deliwala, an authorised representative of APL, mentions the alleged defamatory headlines of the articles written by Thakurta and his interview for the online news portal The Wire. "Defamatory articles and interview, which have been viewed by public at large, the depondent has suffered injury on its reputation and had to undergo severe agony in explaining the true and correct set of circumstances to the well-wishers, employees, investors, bankers, shareholders and also local residents of Mundra," the affidavit states.
It adds, "Further a photo of Prime Minister of India with Adani-chairman of the deponent herein was published by the accused making an imputation with a view to harm the reputation of the deponent herein and to lower its esteem in the mind of public at large and furthermore as the defamatory article is available to be read everywhere in India and also outside India and globally, the same has also tarnished the image of Prime Minister's office and India as a whole."
The affidavit "denies" Thakurta as an "investigative journalist against the ruling dispensation and the Adani group and is targeted for vindictive prosecution." Earlier this year, a judicial magistrate court of first class, Mundra in Kutch had issued an arrest warrant against Thakurta in this case. He had approached the High Court, which quashed the warrant and ordered him to remain present before the court.