The Delhi High Court Wednesday refused to pass an interim order “at this stage” on a plea by BJP MP Gautam Gambhir seeking directions to a media house to withdraw the alleged defamatory publications in which “false, libelous and slanderous” statements have been made against him.
The high court, however, said prima facie it was satisfied that the matter requires consideration and summons must be issued to defendants – a Hindi daily, its editor-in-chief and three reporters.
Cricketer-turned-politician Gambhir claimed in his suit the defendants were publishing “false and malicious” reports against him and sought the court’s direction to them to tender unconditional apology which shall be published in all newspapers brought out and circulated by the media house.
Justice Chandra Dhari Singh issued notice and summons to the media house and four others on the main suit. The court also issued notice to them on the application for interim relief and listed the matter for further hearing in October.
“You are a public servant, you need not to be so sensitive. Any public person should be thick skinned. Otherwise social media etc… Nowadays judges should also be thick skinned,” the judge said.
As an interim relief, Gambhir sought a court order to the newspaper to immediately withdraw the alleged defamatory publications targeting him and to restrain it from making similar allegations during the pendency of the suit.
