Gujarat HC rejects Ravi Nair’s plea for interim release in Adani defamation case

The Gujarat High Court has rejected journalist Ravi Nair’s plea for interim release in a criminal defamation case filed against him by the Adani Group, Bar and Bench reported. 

The court had earlier given Adani Enterprises additional time to respond to Nair’s petition challenging his custody in a criminal defamation case, pushing the matter to September 23. Justice MK Thakker on Wednesday reserved her decision on Nair’s petition. The court said that it will dictate the order next Wednesday.

Nair, a contributor to adaniwatch.org, was convicted of defamation by a Judicial Magistrate First Class in Gandhinagar in February over a series of tweets and articles accusing the Adani Group of corruption, crony capitalism and misuse of government agencies. He was sentenced to a year’s simple imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000. The Sessions Court later suspended his sentence and released him on bail while he appealed the conviction, on conditions including regular court appearances and surrendering his passport.

According to a Bar and Bench report, Nair was taken back into custody last week after a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. The Indian Express reported that a September 3 Sessions Court order first held that Nair was missing and deliberately avoiding arrest; a subsequent September 17 order rejected his bid to cancel the warrant and directed that he be sent to jail. He then moved the High Court for release.

At Monday’s hearing before Justice M K Thakker, senior counsel Mitesh Amin, appearing for Adani Enterprises, sought a short adjournment to place “certain legal and factual aspects” on record, according to The Indian Express. Nair’s counsel, Advocate Abhik Chimni, opposed the request and pushed for interim relief, arguing that the case was already at the appellate stage and that a Supreme Court ruling supported his client's position. As Bar and Bench reported, Chimni argued in court, “Why should I even spend one day in jail?”

The court granted Adani’s adjournment but made clear it would not allow any further delay.

Adani Enterprises filed a defamation case in September 2021, alleging that tweets posted by Nair between October 2020 and July 2021 about the Adani Group had falsely damaged its reputation among investors and regulators. Nair maintains that his posts amounted to fair, public-interest journalism based on information publicly available.

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