Delhi High Court Directs Saket Gokhale To Publish Apology For Defaming Lakshmi Puri

The Delhi High Court has directed Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale to publish the apology for defaming Lakshmi Puri, former Indian Assistant Secretary-General to the United Nations, as directed by a single judge last year.

In an order passed on May 09, Justice Anish Dayal directed Gokhale to publish the apology within two weeks, while rejecting his proposal to place the apology in a sealed cover.

Noting that Gokhale is a Parliamentarian and a reputed member of the society, the Court observed that more than ten months have passed and till date there was no order which he has secured which would impede the compliance of the judgment or decree passed by a coordinate bench on July 01, 2024.

“Accordingly, the proposal of placing the apology in a sealed cover is rejected and the apology as directed by the judgment/decree shall be published within the next two weeks, in the manner decreed,” the Court said.

In the judgment, a coordinate bench, while decreeing Puri's defamation suit in her favour, had asked Gokhale to put the apology in Times of India. He was also directed to put the apology on his Twitter handle, which had to stay for 6 months. He was also directed to pay Rs. 50 lakh damages to her.

Justice Dayal observed that there was no reason why the Court should take the apology in a sealed cover and then wait for the result of Gokhale's appeal, as and when it is filed and adjudicated.

“Considering that the decree was passed in July 2024, no challenge was preferred in the statutory period, the challenge which was finally preferred was dimissed with a detailed judgment, and the respondent has simply tarried, ligered and procrastinated, but still not complied with the judgment/decree,” the Court observed.

The development ensued in Puri's contempt plea alleging that Gokhale failed to comply with the last year ruling. She sought execution of the judgment in question. 

The defamation suit was filed by Puri being aggrieved by Gokhale's tweets referring to a property purchased by her in Switzerland. In the tweets, Gokhale raised questions regarding her and her husband, Union Minister Hardeep Puri's assets. He had also tagged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman in the tweets and sought an ED inquiry.

The suit contended that Gokhale's tweets were false and defamatory. It was Puri's case that the tweets were “maliciously motivated and designed accordingly, laced with canards and entail deliberate twisting of facts”.

In July 2021, a coordinate bench ruled in favour of Puri while deciding the interim injunction application in the suit.

The court had then directed Gokhale to take down the tweets in question within 24 hours. He was also restrained from posting any further defamatory material against Puri.

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. Maninder Singh, Sr. Adv. with Ms. Meghna Mishra, Ms. Palak Sharma, Mr. Shreyansh Rathi, Mr. R. Mohan and Mr. Amarpal Singh, Advs

Counsel for Respondent: Mr. Amarjit Singh Bedi and Mr. Harsha Vinoy, Advs

Title: LAKSHMI MURDESHWAR PURI v. SAKET GOKHALE

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 554

Click here to read order