Delhi High Court issues summons to The Tribune in bizman’s defamation suit, asks it to disclose ‘sponsor’s details’

Srivastava said that he was aggrieved by the publication of a “statement/article” in The Tribune, which he claimed, “maliciously made defamatory statements and allegations” against him.

A single judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh in its May 30 order issued summons to the newspaper and also issued notice to it in Srivastava’s application for interim relief. The matter is next listed for hearing on June 12.

During the hearing on May 30, senior advocate Arvind Nigam who appeared for Srivastava along with advocate Abhishek Singh, pointed to the “original publication” in The Tribune from December 24, 2023.

The publication carried a disclaimer which read, “This article is part of a sponsored content programme. The Tribune is not responsible for the content including the data in the text and has no role in its selection”. Nigam said that this has now been “re-published in Times of UP and some other websites”.

After hearing the matter, the High Court said, “Considering the fact that The Tribune itself claims that the publication was a sponsored content programme, the details of the said sponsor may be disclosed to the plaintiff (Srivastava) by 10th June”.

The court said that Srivastava would then be free to take steps as per law, including for “seeking impleadment” of the said sponsor.

Srivastava said that he discovered these “defamatory publications” last month and issued a legal notice to the defendants on May 20, demanding cessation of these activities, removal of the defamatory content, and Rs 5 crore in damages. He, however, said that the defendants did not comply or respond, prompting him to file the suit.

“The entire false publications have accused the plaintiff even when there is no shred of evidence and iota of truth in such acquisitions which are a part of a paid campaign to tarnish and harm the reputation of the plaintiff,” the suit submits.

Among various reliefs, Srivastava has sought a permanent injunction against the defendant entities–which includes The Tribune, India Today, Times of UP among others, for restraining them from publishing any defamatory material.

Srivastava has sought unconditional apology from the defendants for publishing unverified content, also a direction to them to remove the allegedly defamatory content.