NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages to Lakshmi Puri, the wife of Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, over the alleged defamatory tweets of 2021.
Lakshmi Puri had originally sought Rs 5 crore in damages to be deposited in the Prime Minister Cares Fund, which the court rejected, stating, “… to ask the court to grant damages, and to then pray that the court remit them to a particular fund is not tenable.”
Gokhale must pay the Rs 50 lakh within eight weeks and publish an apology in The Times of India and on his X handle within the same timeframe, the court ruled, adding that Gokhale had accused Puri of acquiring property in Switzerland disproportionate to her income.
On Monday, the court penalised the Trinamool Congress leader, stating, “the offending tweets are per se defamatory; that the plaintiff has suffered undeserved legal injury to her reputation, which warrants redressal.”