Gautam Gambhir moves Delhi HC against Hindi newpaper for "intentionally" publishing false, defamatory articles

New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer and BJP MP Gautam Gambhir has filed a defamation case in Delhi High Court against Hindi newspaper Punjab Kesari, its editor and the reporters for "intentionally" publishing false and defamatory articles.
The suit stated that the newspaper and its representatives have been intentionally publishing false and defamatory articles with a view to damage the reputation of Gambhir from May 16, 2022 onwards. Gambhir also sought the direction of the Court for passing a decree of mandatory injunction to the Defendants (Punjab Kesari and other representatives)
"The Media Organisation has also been publishing defamatory statements regarding the plaintiff's (Gautam Gambhir) Personal Secretary (PS) Gaurav Arora without any basis as such," the suit stated.
The suit further said that a legal notice was also issued to the organisation on November 23 in 2022 to cease and desist from making any defamatory publication against the Plaintiff. However, no response has been received to the same by the Plaintiff till date.
"Accordingly, the hard-earned reputation of the Gambhir is under threat," it added.
According to the suit, the media house published incorrect and false articles intentionally to malign his image which stated that the former player is missing from his constituency 'Gali-Gali Me Lage Poster' and the MP can be seen occasionally only on the TV Screen.
The suit stated that this malicious style of journalism has been done in stark disregard of the fact that the Plaintiff was required to maintain this physical distance due to the safety regulations formulated for the Indian Premier League ("IPL"), of which he was a participant as the Mentor for the team Lucknow Super Giants.
"Numerous malicious, libellous statements have been published, systemically targeting the Plaintiff, and especially the Plaintiff's work as a parliamentarian. This has been done without any justification, and without indulging even in a single act of responsible journalism. Instead, the media organisation has only misused their freedom of speech and expression," the suit said. (ANI)