Delhi, 28 May (H.S.): The Delhi High Court issued a show cause notice to Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale for potential civil detention due to his non-compliance with a court order requiring him to publish an apology for defaming Lakshmi Puri, a former Indian Assistant Secretary-General at the UN. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora noted that Gokhale's failure to adhere to the order is a mockery of the court's authority. This order stemmed from Puri’s application to execute the decree in her favor. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, representing Puri, highlighted that a previous directive on May 9 mandated Gokhale to publish an apology within two weeks, which he did not fulfill by the May 23 deadline. Gokhale's advocate, Naman Joshi, acknowledged the lack of compliance and confirmed no appeal had been filed against the May 9 order. Singh proposed appointing a local commissioner to publish the apology on Gokhale’s behalf, but Joshi contended that the apology is personal and cannot be delegated. The court responded by stating it could enforce compliance through detention if necessary. The court had already ordered the attachment of Gokhale's salary, with the Rajya Sabha Secretariat promising a compliance report later that day.
The Court expressed discontent with Gokhale's failure to comply with the original judgment from July 2022 and the extended timeline from the May 9 order, suggesting that his actions seem to mock the judicial process. Due to this willful non-compliance, the Court issued a notice to Gokhale, questioning why he should not face civil detention under principles similar to 21 Rule 32 and Order 21 Rule 41 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Gokhale has been given one week to respond, with the subsequent hearing scheduled for September 3.
In the earlier ruling, the Court had sided with Puri in her defamation suit against Gokhale, requiring him to apologize in the Times of India and on his Twitter account for six months, in addition to paying Rs. 50 lakh in damages. The defamation suit arose from Gokhale’s tweets, which questioned Puri's property purchase in Switzerland and her and her husband’s assets, tagging Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and requesting an ED inquiry. Puri's argument stated that Gokhale's tweets were malicious and knowingly false, and in July 2021, the Court mandated Gokhale to remove the tweets within 24 hours and prohibited further defamatory remarks against her.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
