New Delhi, July 20: Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has filed a defamation suit in Bombay High Court against 29 media personnel and media houses for 'doing false reporting and maligning her image' in the adult film case.

 

 

In her suit filed through Parinam Law Associates, Shetty alleged that media houses uploaded the impugned articles with an intent to increase their readership by sensationalizing news and reporting false statements concerning her and the criminal investigation that is ongoing against her husband Raj Kundra.

 

Shetty has further urged the High Court to issue a "permanent and mandatory injunction restraining the defendants, (themselves and through their servants, agents, assigns and/or any person claiming by or through them) from making and/or publishing and/or reproducing and/or circulating and/or speaking and/or communicating, any derogatory and defamatory statements.

 

 

The plea by Shilpa Shetty conveyed that the defendants are tarnishing her reputation and sensationalizing news to increase readership and viewership. She has accused the media houses of invading her privacy and interfering in her personal life by publishing incorrect, derogatory, false defamatory statements concerning her life and relationship with her husband.

 

 

 

"The Defamatory Articles and Defamatory Videos have lowered the Applicant’s reputation in the eyes of the general public including her fans, followers, brand endorsement companies, business associates, and peers who have now started believing in the reports being published by the Defendants," the plea read.

 

She also asked them to issue an unconditional apology for defaming her image. In addition, she requested compensation of Rs 25 crore.

 

Moreover, she also argued that the defendants (media houses) are conducting their investigations on the Raj Kundra case and creating a mockery of the judicial system.

 

The plea stated, "A bare perusal of the Defamatory Articles and Defamatory Videos amply clear that the Defendants are publishing/ uploading parallel private “investigations” and effectively acting as “courts” to condemn the Applicant and her husband as guilty based on what they claim is “evidence” found by them from their alleged sources, thereby trying to make a mockery of the judicial system."

 

Shetty's husband Raj Kundra was arrested by Mumbai police on July 19, for allegedly being a "key conspirator" in a case related to adult films.

 

Police have booked him under Sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 292, and 293 (related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides relevant sections of the IT Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

 

 

Apart from this Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) slapped a monetary penalty of Rs 3 lakh on Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra, and Viaan Industries, the company they own.