Legal notices for defamation and libel have been served on three members of the “Forum for Saving Gandhi’s Heritage” which took out a full-page advertisement in the New York Times levelling several accusation against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi during her visit in New York last year.
The suit demanding USD 100 million in actual, compensatory, special and punitive damages in addition to costs and disbursements, legal fee and other relief that the court might deem “just, equitable and proper” has been filed in the New York Supreme Court by the Indian National Overseas Congress (INOC).
One of the defendants Narain Kataria said they plan to fight the suit and their lawyers would send a rebuttal to the charges but declined to say when.
Gandhi had come to the United Nations on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary last year which is observed as day of non violence.
The advertisement appeared after she had gone back home but during her stay here the Heritage had organised a demonstration questioning the right of Sonia Gandhi to address the UN on the occasion.
The suit says that the advertisement contained “intentionally false” statements about the professional activities and reputation and tended to expose Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to public contempt, ridicule, aversion or disgrace or to induce an “evil opinion” about them in the minds of “right thinking” person.