[Exclusive]: Abhishek M Singhvi sends defamation notice to Sarosh Zaiwalla for claims that LM Singhvi tried to stifle Bofors investigation

Senior Advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi has sent a legal notice to UK-based lawyer Sarosh Zaiwalla for allegedly defaming his father LM Singhvi in a recently published book..It is claimed that Zaiwalla has made defamatory, patently false, and vexatious remarks against the senior Singhvi in relation to the Bofors deal, in his book titled Honour Bound..In his book, Zaiwalla had made an allegation that a certain Indian lawyer was responsible for handing then External Affairs Minister Madhavisinh Solanki an envelope which contained a letter urging the Swiss government to close its inquiry into the kickbacks received by Indian politicians in the Bofors deal. Solanki had later claimed that he was on a plane when a “well respected Indian lawyer in London” had handed him this sealed envelope. Relevant passages in the book read as follows:.“There was a presumption in the Indian Press that this lawyer was me…I knew nothing about it. There was no way I could have got security clearance to board a plane on which I was not travelling… …[Journalist] Vir Sanghvi later told me the person who handed the envelope over might have been the Indian High Commissioner in the UK, Dr. LM Singhvi, who was also a senior lawyer. Because of his diplomatic status, he would have had access and authority to meet the Minister on the plane…”Passage from Zaiwalla's book, Honour Bound.The legal notice claims that the contents of the book have no iota of truth, and is a deliberate and malicious attempt to defame LM Singhvi, who was a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India, a Parliamentarian in both Houses, and India’s longest serving High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. The notice further states,."Moreover, you [Zaiwalla] have tried, for the first time, after almost three decades to deflect from the long standing allegations (which you yourself refer to as “presumption”) against yourself to manufacture a new story about the late Dr LM Singhvi which was never uttered once by you for over three decades.”.The notice also refers to Zaiwalla’s interview with Times of India published on February 23. The headline of that interview was “I Learnt From Bofors Never To Act In A Case Involving Internal Indian Politics, Says Sarosh Zaiwalla”..In that article, Zaiwalla had alleged that Dr. LM Singhvi had acted unfairly against his firm. The possible reason, as claimed by Zaiwalla, was that he was a member of an international arbitration tribunal that passed an order against the Indian government, which was represented by AM Singhvi. Zaiwalla had also claimed that his co-arbitrator in that matter, former Chief Justice of India RS Pathak, who was well know to Dr. LM Singhvi, was “clearly under pressure” to rule in favour of the Indian government. In this background, Zaiwalla was quoted as saying,.“This apparently provoked Dr. Singhvi to recommend blacklisting my firm despite the successful service we had provided the High Commission (to the UK) over the years.”Sarosh Zaiwalla in an interview to TOI.This insinuation has been dismissed in the notice as being speculative, false, and unsubstantiated, and that it flies in the face of Zaiwalla’s own statement that his firm was sacked by Kuldeep Nayar, who was High Commissioner to the UK before LM Singhvi was appointed to the post..Claiming that the statements have caused hardships and prejudice against AM Singhvi and his whole family, the notice claims that a case for civil liability and damages is made out. It is also claimed that Zaiwalla’s statements also attract penal provisions under the Information Technology Act..Singhvi has, therefore, demanded that Zaiwalla’s book be recalled and that the allegedly defamatory portions of the books be deleted. Zaiwalla has also been asked to tender an unconditional apology in the form of an affidavit sworn and attested before an executive magistrate. The notice also demands that Zaiwalla publish an apology in the Times of India and unconditionally withdraw all the statements made in the interview within two weeks. A retraction on the part of the book publisher Harper Collins, as well as TOI is also sought for..Zaiwalla has been given fifteen days to comply with the demands, failing which Singhvi will pursue civil and criminal action against him..The notice has been sent by Jaiveer Shergill and settled by Senior Advocate Prashanto Chandra Sen.