CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court has set aside an ex-parte order of a single judge awarding compensation of Rs 50 lakh to AIADMK spokesperson Apsara Reddy in a defamation suit filed against YouTuber Joe Michael Praveen.
The order was passed recently by a division bench of justices SM Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq on an appeal filed by Praveen against the single judge’s order, since a review application against the ex-parte order was rejected by the single judge.
The appellant stated that he was not aware of the summons and non-appearance of his lawyer when the defamation suit was being heard by the single judge. He prayed for the division bench to set the order aside and said he would cooperate for early disposal of the suit within a time frame.
Taking into account the facts and circumstances, the division bench set aside the impugned order made in the civil suit and restored it for fresh hearing. However, the bench did not set a time frame but requested the trial court to expedite the hearing of the suit.
The single judge, in January, ordered YouTuber Joe Michael Praveen to pay Rs 50 lakh compensation to trans person entrepreneur Apsara Reddy for defaming her on social media stating that merely because a person has a right to post on YouTube, he cannot cross his limits encroaching upon the privacy of others.