[BREAKING] Jairam Ramesh tenders apology to Vivek Doval; Delhi court closes defamation case

A Delhi Court today closed the criminal defamation proceedings against Congress leader Jairam Ramesh after he tendered an apology to Vivek Doval in connection with his press conference over The Caravan's article titled The D Companies. (Vivek Doval & Jairam Ramesh & Ors) .Appearing before Judge Sachin Gupta, Additional Metropolitan Magistrate, Rouse Avenue, Ramesh said that he made several allegations against Doval in heat of the moment and that he should have verified them..He submitted, ."I want to clarify that these statements or accusations were made drawing conclusions from an article that was published the previous day in The Caravan magazine. As the case progressed, I realised that perhaps the same independent verification may have been in order. However, the General Elections were close and the questions raised in the article seemed appropriate for being highlighted in making certain insinuations against you and your family. Thus, I would like to offer my apologies to you and your family for any hurt the statements may have caused. I would also urge the INC to remove the press conference available on their website.".The apology was accepted by Doval. .Vivek Doval had filed the defamation case against Ramesh, as well as The Caravan and journalist Kaushal Shroff, following the publication of an article titled The D Companies. .The court had taken cognizance of Doval’s criminal defamation complaint in January 2019. Ramesh was granted bail in May 2019..The article alleged that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s sons ran a web of companies, including a Cayman Islands hedge fund to round-trip black money during the time of demonetization, even as their father demanded a crackdown on tax havens..It was Doval’s case that the insinuations in the article were made “in a concerted effort to inflict injury” on him and his family. In his statement before the Court, Vivek Doval claimed that the purpose behind the article and the press conference led by Ramesh was to run a “malicious campaign” against the Doval family..Defamation proceedings against The Caravan and journalist Kaushal Shroff will continue. .Doval is being represented by Advocate DP Singh.