As a responsible citizen, did you verify before tweeting? Bombay High Court to Nawab Malik

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik to state on affidavit whether he had verified the information about Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede and his family, before putting it out in the public domain through his Twitter handle..Vacation Bench single judge Madhav Jamdar passed the directions while hearing the defamation suit filed by Wankhede's father Dhyandev Kachruji Wankhede against Malik seeking damages to the tune of ₹1.25 crores for making defamatory statements against his family members. "Have you verified before putting it (tweets)? Isn't it your duty as a public officer to verify (before uploading something) as a responsible citizen and national political party member?" Justice Jamdar said.The Court also told Wankhede's counsel Arshad Shaikh that he has to prove that the statements made by Malik are false and not factual."You have to show that the statements made are false. These issues can be raised by any member of public because he (Wankhede) is a public officer. So first you show the statements are false, because he (Malik) says they are true," Justice Jamdar said..Malik had filed a detailed reply on Tuesday challenging the maintainability of the suit filed by Wankhede. Senior Advocate Atul Damle, appearing on behalf of Malik, argued that there is an uncertainty in the plaint regarding who uploaded the photos and tweets. Damle placed reliance on the plaint itself to contend that Wankhede's father had admitted that whatever Malik was tweeting was obtained from the social media accounts of Wankhede's family members. Damle concluded that whatever was being tweeted was with the basis of documents, hence it could not be stated that the statements were defamatory. .To this, Justice Jamdar enquired whether Malik verified the information that he was uploading on his twitter handle. .When the Court asked if any specific averment was made to that effect in the affidavit, Damle responded that no such averment had been made in the affidavit. Justice Jamdar then directed Damle to file an affidavit to that effect. .Advocate Arshad Shaikh on behalf of Wankhede, sought ad-interim injunction order against Malik from making any further remarks or statement in the media. .While Shaikh was pointing out how the statements were made with malicious intent, Justice Jamdar intervened and asked him to demonstrate as to how the statements made by Malik were false since truth is a defence for defamation..To this Shaikh sought time to file an additional affidavit to demonstrate how the tweets were false and defamatory. .The Court also clarified that the hearing in the case will now be limited to the ad-interim relief sought in the interim application. .Damle raised his apprehension that the relief seeks injunction not only against Malik but also his associates and legal representatives. Justice Jamdar assured Damle that the Court was mindful of what reliefs have to be given."The Court is mindful of what relief to give. I am not going to pass a gag order. But he (Wankhede) is also a citizen of India, he has come for damages though this suit. I also have to ensure that whatever has been uploaded was verified or not," Justice Jamdar said. .It then adjourned the matter for further hearing on November 12, 2021.