Big win for mother and a tight slap on Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera!

New Delhi, July 29: In a major win for Union Minister Smriti Irani, the Delhi High Court on Friday issued summons to Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Netta D'souza in a civil suit filed by Union Cabinet Minister Smriti Irani.

 

The HC also directed the Congress leaders to remove the post, videos, tweets, retweets, and morphed pictures of the plaintiff and her daughter along with the allegations and stop their recirculation regarding allegations made against her and her daughter.

 

As reported earlier, Union Minister Smriti Irani has filed civil defamation seeking permanent and mandatory injunction along with damages of over Rs 2 crore and stated that congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and Netta D'souza conspired with other unknown individuals to launch a series of scathing and belligerent personal remarks to malign and defame a young child of the plaintiff who even not lives in the country.

 

 

In a tight slap on their faces, Justice Mini Pushkarna stated, "I am of the prima facie view that slanderous allegations were made against the plaintiff without verifying actual facts". "Grave injury has been caused to the reputation of the plaintiff in view of the tweets and retweets carried out due to the press conference of the defendants", the court added.

 

Plaintiff has made out prima facie case and balance of convenience lies in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants. I deem it proper to pass an interim injunction directing Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and Netta D'souza to delete and remove the allegations made during the press conference from all social media platforms including Youtube, Facebook and Twitter inc.

 

 

They are also directed to remove the post, videos, tweets, retweets, morphed pictures of the plaintiff and her daughter along with the allegations and stop their recirculation. If defendants 1-3 fail to comply with the directions within 24 hours of this order, defendants 4-6 (social media platforms) are directed to take down the material, the court added.

 

On the Delhi HC proceeding on Friday congress leaders, Jairam Ramesh tweeted that, "The Delhi High Court has issued notice asking us to formally reply to the case filed by Smriti Irani. We look forward to presenting the facts before the court. We will challenge and disprove the spin being put out by Irani.".

 

 

 

Congress leaders Pawan Khera, Jairam Ramesh, Netta D' Souza and the party had claimed Smriti Irani's daughter ran an illegal bar in Goa and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi sack Irani from the Union Cabinet.

 

Soon after this, Union Minister Smriti Irani sent a legal notice to Congress leaders over remarks on her 18-year-old daughter, asking them to tender a written unconditional apology and withdraw the allegations with immediate effect.

 

 

Smriti Irani rejected the Congress "malicious" allegations and said the college student was targeted because of her mother's vocal stand on Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's "Rs 5,000-crore loot" in the National Herald case. In a hard-hitting press conference, Irani said the Congress "assassinated" and "publicly mutilated" her daughter Zoish's character, and dared the Opposition party to show proof of any wrongdoing on part of the 18-year-old.

 

 

The ministry for women and child development asked if the purported notices shown by Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera at a press conference bear her daughter's name. She alleged that the Congress held the press conference to target her daughter at the behest of the Gandhi family.

 

 

"My daughter's fault is that her mother holds a press conference on the loot of Rs 5,000 cr by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Her fault is that her mother fought against Rahul Gandhi in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls," the MP said.