Trinamool’s Saket Gokhale Told To Pay Rs 50 Lakh Damages In Defamation Case

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages to former United Nations Nations Nations Assistant Secretary-General Lakshmi Puri, in a defamation suit filed by her. The court also mandated Gokhale to issue a public apology in The Times of India and on his X (formerly Twitter) account, which must remain posted for six months.

The suit stems from a series of defamatory tweets by Gokhale, where he questioned Puri's integrity.

The tweets accused Puri and her husband, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, of purchasing a house in Geneva, Switzerland, using ‘black money’ in 2006. These allegations led Puri to seek legal redress in 2021, claiming the tweets tarnished her reputation and caused irreparable harm.

The lawsuit was filed by Karanjawala & Co on behalf of Lakshmi Puri. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh (former ASG) represented Puri, supported by a team from Karanjawala & Company including Meghna Mishra, Tarun Sharma, Palak Sharma, and Shreyansh Rathi.