Lakshmi Puri defamation: Delhi High Court objects to Saket Gokhale's affidavit; asks him to file fresh one

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday took objection to an affidavit filed by Trinamool Congress leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Saket Gokhale in his appeal against a single-judge direction to pay ₹50 lakh compensation to former diplomat Lakshmi Puri for posting defamatory tweets against her.

Gokhale had recently published a public apology to Puri as directed by the single-judge. Today an affidavit in this regard was filed by Gokhale before the Court.

At the outset, the bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Renu Bhatnagar pointed out that certain oral observations of court had been reproduced in the affidavit.

"This is not done ... you first withdraw the affidavit," the Court remarked, as it asked Gokhale to file a better affidavit.

The matter will be heard next on July 22.

Senior Advocate Amit Sibal, representing Gokhale, said the affidavit has not been formally filed but agreed that the oral observations should not have been included in the affidavit.

"I apologize. I had not seen this, settled this. This should not have happened. No observations that are not part of the record ought to be placed on affidavit. In fact, this is not filed," Sibal said.

Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, representing Puri, referred to observations made by two single-judges about Gokhale's conduct in the case.

The High Court had last year ruled that Gokhale's tweets were defamatory and directed him to pay ₹50 lakh as damages to Puri and publish an apology in the Times of India newspaper and on his X handle.

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.

She contended that Gokhale falsely claimed that her income could have only been ₹10-12 lakh as she was on deputation from Government of India to UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

In a detailed order, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani on July 1, 2024, held Gokhale's allegations to be "incorrect, false and untrue".

The Court further observed that messages on social-media generate a "social-media chain reaction as it were, which is no less dangerous in today’s milieu than a nuclear reaction gone out of control".

The Court ruled that Gokhale raked up the remote and antiquated issue not because he was interested in the financial affairs of Lakshmi Puri but because her husband Hardeep Puri holds a ministerial post in the Central Government.

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 then filed the present appeal against the said order.

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 apologizing to Puri.

He later published an apology on X.

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

Advocates Vishal Gehrana and Palak Sharma from Karanjawala & Co also appeared for Puri.