The Gujarat High Court on Monday adjourned journalist Ravi Nair's plea challenging his custody in a criminal defamation case in which he was convicted earlier this year for allegedly defaming the Adani Group.
Nair had been released on bail during the pendency of his appeal against the conviction but was again taken into custody last week following the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him by the Sessions Court.
He has now moved the High Court to seek his release. Justice MK Thakker today granted Adani Enterprises more time to respond to Nair's plea seeking release from judicial custody.
Senior counsel Mitesh Amin appearing for Adani submitted that he would like to put on record certain facts which may go against Nair. He thus sought a short date to file a response to Nair's plea.
Advocate Abhik Chimni opposed the request, submitting that he was pressing for interim release of Nair.
"They have no position to say anything in this matter. A Supreme Court judgment squarely covers me. This is at an appellate stage. This is not even the trial. Why should I even spend one day in jail," Chimni argued.
However, the Court said that while it understands that Nair is in custody, Adani Enterprises wants to point out certain legal aspects in the matter.
"In the opinion of this Court, when the complainant is represented on issuance of notice, a fair opportunity is required to be given," it added.
The matter will be heard on September 23.
Why should I even spend one day in jail,Ravi Nair
In February, a magistrate convicted Nair in a criminal defamation case filed by the Adani Group in connection with a series of tweets and online articles accusing the Adani Group of numerous unethical practices.
The Court ruled that the content went beyond fair criticism and amounted to criminal defamation. The case stemmed from a criminal complaint filed by the Adani Group in September 2021.
The company alleged that between October 2020 and July 2021, Nair published multiple tweets from his X (formerly Twitter) handle and articles on a website called “adaniwatch.org”, accusing the Adani Group corruption, crony capitalism, manipulation of environmental laws, misuse of government agencies and unethical business practices.
It claimed that these allegations were false, unverified and published with the intention of damaging its reputation among investors, regulators, financial institutions and the general public. It argued that the Adani Group operates in highly regulated sectors and that such accusations directly affect its credibility and goodwill.
Nair denied the allegations. He said that his posts amounted to journalistic commentary on matters of public interest and that the tweets were based on material already available in the public domain. He also contended that the publications were fair criticism and did not amount to defamation.
Following his conviction, he filed an appeal before a Sessions Court to challenge the verdict delivered by the judicial magistrate.
The Court released him on bail during the pendency of the appeal. However, since he failed to appear before the Court earlier this month, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him.
Nair then appeared before the Sessions Court and challenged the issuance of the non-bailable warrant. However, the Court rejected his plea and sent him to judicial custody. He then moved the High Court seeking immediate release from custody.