Delhi High Court asks Lakshmi Puri and Saket Gokhale to settle defamation case

The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale and former diplomat Lakshmi Puri to hold talks to resolve the dispute between them.

Gokhale and Puri have been involved in a protracted legal battle over the former's defamatory comments against the latter in 2021. Gokhale had alleged that Puri had purchased property in Switzerland disproportionate to her income.

The TMC leader's posts were held to be defamatory by a single judge in July 2024, and he was ordered to apologise and pay ₹50 lakh damages to the ex-diplomat.

A Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar today heard Gokhale's appeal against this order and the directions attaching his assets after he failed to pay the damages.

The Court said both Gokhale and Puri are respected public figures and they should try to resolve the dispute amicably.

“The only thing is that please take into consideration that the courts are already burdened with the litigations… Let them have a meeting, if possible. Otherwise, we are bound to hear it,” the Court remarked. 

Senior Advocates Amit Sibal and Maninder Singh, appearing for Gokhale and Puri respectively, agreed to the suggestion.

"This court has suggested a meeting of the parties to explore the possibilities of settlement, which has been very gracefully accepted by the learned counsels... Parties are requested to explore the possibility of settlement," the Court recorded in its order.

Lakshmi Puri is the wife of Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri.

She had sued Gokhale after he alleged that she had purchased property in Switzerland disproportionate to her income. Puri claimed that Gokhale's tweets were defamatory, malicious and based on false information.

In a detailed order, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani on July 1, 2024, held Gokhale's allegations to be "incorrect, false and untrue". The single-judge ordered him to pay ₹50 lakh in damages to Puri and also publish an apology in The Times of India newspaper and on his X handle.

Gokhale challenged the judgement.

Meanwhile, Lakshmi Puri moved the High Court by way of two separate petitions, seeking execution of the decision and contempt of court action against Gokhale for not complying with the directions of Justice Bhambhani.

A co-ordinate bench in Puri's contempt petition in May rejected Gokhale's proposal to place the apology in a sealed cover and ordered him to publish it in the newspaper within two weeks.

Another bench on May 28 asked him to show cause why he should not be sent to civil prison for not apologising to Puri.

He later published an apology on X.

His part salary already stands attached following the court order in the execution plea.

Senior Advocate Amit Sibal with advocates Naman Joshi, Priya Goyal, Aakash Deep Singh, Darpan Sachdeva, and Vinamra Kopariha appeared for Gokhale.

Senior Advocate Maninder Singh with advocates Vishal Gehrana, Palak Sharma, Rangasaran Mohan, Amarpal Singh Dua and Milind Rai appeared for Puri.