Won’t restrain MLA in defamation matter: Delhi high court

The court also said that it is through the social media platforms that information and opinions are transmitted, noting that it can be restrained only when lies and falsehood are being spread on the forum

Refusing to restrain BJP MLA Vijender Gupta from posting defamatory tweets against transport minister Kailash Gahlot, the Delhi high court, hearing a defamation case related to alleged irregularities in the procurement of 1,000 low floor buses by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), said nobody should be prevented from expressing their opinions on the government even if public figures may be lampooned in the process.

The court said that any order against BJP MLA Vijender Gupta would not only amount to a “gag order”, but would also “tie his hands”, preventing him from effectively discharging his public duties as an MLA by raising questions. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“…none should be prevented from expressing their opinions, including suspicions or doubts, on the government’s transaction of business. In the process, public figures such as ministers like the plaintiff (Gahlot), may be lampooned. But they must bear it with fortitude and allow their actions to speak louder than words,” the justice Asha Menon said in a 43-page judgment on Monday.

The court also said that it is through the social media platforms that information and opinions are transmitted, noting that it can be restrained only when lies and falsehood are being spread on the forum.

It held that there is a vested right in the opposition to question the government on its actions and Gupta, in discharge of his duties as an MLA, had raised starred questions in the Assembly, but did not find the answers sufficiently elucidating of the actions taken by the government.

“It would also amount to a restraint on the defendant no 1 (Gupta) from raising issues of public importance, which would impact the public and about which the public has a right to know and be informed. It is the elected representatives of the people who are expected to raise the concerns of the public in appropriate fora,” the court said.

Gahlot said that he is filing an appeal against the order given by the single judge.

The interim application dismissed on Monday was filed by Gahlot in his pending civil defamation suit in which he has also sought ₹5 crore in damages from Gupta for allegedly making scandalous statements related to irregularities in the procurement of low-floor buses.

He had sought an interim order on the removal of allegedly defamatory statements and posts shared by Gupta on social media against Gahlot.

Denying him relief, the court said that the “tone and tenor” of Gupta’s tweets and posts would show that he being a ‘public figure’ was relentlessly pursuing the government in respect of the purchase of and grant of an AMC for 1,000 buses, in which a committee had also found irregularities and had recommended its cancellation.

The court said that the tweets are also contemporaneous to the convening of the Delhi Assembly and also to the appointment of a Committee by the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) to make inquiry into the alleged corrupt practices, based on a complaint received by him.

“Thus, it is difficult to accept that these tweets were personally targeted against the plaintiff alone and were per se defamatory and were totally false on the face of it. Had these accusations been absolutely false, the L-G would not have constituted a committee. Moreover, the CBI has also initiated a preliminary inquiry,” the court said.

“Even if these tweets were suggestive of corruption, in the backdrop of the findings of the Committee and initiation of the CBI inquiry, even on a prima facie reading, these cannot be held to be defamatory. Moreover, the defendant No.1 has raised the plea of justification for these comments and has also referred to various documents during the course of arguments to justify the tweets. The defendant No.1 has to be granted an opportunity to establish his plea of justification at the time of trial,” it added.

The judge noted that the Delhi government on the other hand, through Gahlot, contended that it had kept the purchase and maintenance orders on hold even though it did not give any reasons.

“Hence, it is reasonable to infer that the Committee report and the CBI inquiry may have had some effect on this decision of the government. It would, no doubt be upon the defendant No.1 to actually prove justification during trial. But on the material placed on the record, there is nothing on which basis the tweets can be treated as blatant lies and hence defamatory,” the court said.

It added that “public figures” are subjected to closer scrutiny and unless it is tantamount to harassment and invasion of private lives of the family of the public personality, interest, even in his personal activities, cannot be barred and negative comments banned because they have an impact on his standing in the public eye.

On August 28, 2021, a division bench had refused to interfere with the single judge’s order declining to pass an ex-parte interim order on the removal of allegedly defamatory statements and posts shared by Gupta on social media against Gahlot.

The counsel for Gupta had then given an oral assurance to the bench that no tweet or press statement would be issued in relation to the issue of procurement of DTC buses. On August 27, 2021, the single judge had issued summons to Gupta in Gahlot’s defamation suit and said that no ex-parte injunction was called for at this stage.

Besides seeking a direction to restrain Gupta from posting/ tweeting/ publishing any defamatory or scandalous or factually incorrect tweets/ posts on social media platforms and giving interviews, writing articles and blogs in respect of purchase of low floor buses, the suit also sought removal of the allegedly defamatory content from social media.