'Allegations Of Financial Impropriety Tend To Stick': Delhi HC Orders MP Saket Gokhale To Pay ₹50L In Damages For Defamatory Tweets Against Lakshmi Puri

The Delhi High Court has ordered MP Saket Gokhale to pay Rs. 50 lakhs in damages to Lakshmi Puri, former Indian Assistant Secretary-General to the United Nations, in her defamation lawsuit against him.

In that context, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani observed that, "Allegations of financial impropriety tend to "stick" and have the propensity to spread widely through the "grapevine". Even rumor about financial improbity taints a person's good name. In the present case, the false contents of the offending tweets would, without a shred of doubt, have found their way into the official ecosystem in which the plaintiff moves about, and in which her husband functions. People who matter are likely to have formed opinions in relation to the plaintiff (and her husband) based on what was contained in the offending tweets. Needless to add, that the loss of esteem suffered by the plaintiff, even if based on utter falsehood, would have resulted inevitably in loss of social standing, accompanied by psychological distress, aggravated by the pain of false accusation."

Lakshmi Puri, wife of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, sued Saket Gokhale for alleging that she bought property in Switzerland disproportionate to her income. In July 2021, the Court issued an interim order directing Gokhale to remove the allegedly defamatory tweets and restraining him from posting any further defamatory content against the Puris.

Puri argued in the High Court that Gokhale's tweets were defamatory, malicious, and based on false information. She claimed Gokhale falsely stated her income could only have been ₹10-12 lakh during her deputation to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The High Court took the considered view that, "What makes it worse is that the pernicious and anarchic nature of social-media, in this case Twitter, with its propensity to disseminate content (including misinformation) widely and indiscriminately, would certainly have resulted in very wide circulation of the offending tweets. Defendant No.1 claims to be a popular RTI Activist and is now also a Member of a political party. The offending tweets have therefore no doubt been circulated in various political, official and non-official circles. Defendant No.1‟s conduct after the offending tweets were put-out, and after he was cautioned of the falsity of their content, has been less than responsible or remorseful. Instead defendant No.1 has chosen to persist in his stand. The indifference displayed by defendant No. 1 in the course of the present proceedings, is self-evident."

In light of the same, the defendant was directed to publish an apology on his Twitter handle. He was also restrained from publishing any further tweet or any other content on any social-media or other electronic platform in relation to the imputations made in the offending tweets.

Cause Title: Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri vs Saket Gokhale & Anr.

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