BJP’s East Delhi MP and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir has filed a defamation case against Punjab Kesari seeking damages to the tune of Rs 2 crore, according to Bar and Bench. The MP has reportedly sought a public apology from the paper, its editor and two reporters.
Filed through advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, the case before the Delhi High Court pertains to several news items, including one headlined “Saansad Gautam Gambhir laapata, gali gali mein lage poster” and “Dilli ke laapata saansad Lucknow Super Giants ke liye bane Bhasmasur”, according to the news portal.
Gambhir has alleged that the reports created a fake and defamatory public perception of his efforts as a parliamentarian. He has demanded that all these reports be retracted.
The court is set to hear the matter on Wednesday.
Published in November 2019, one of the news items reportedly part of Gambhir’s petition had mentioned the appearance of several posters in the national capital days after the BJP MP skipped an important meeting of a parliamentary committee on Delhi’s air crisis.
“Have you seen him? He was last spotted eating jalebis at the Indore cricket stadium. All of Delhi is looking for him,” the poster read.
