"If you can give reply on Twitter then you better reply here also".
That is what Justice Jamdar of the Bombay High Court said before passing an order that requires Maharashtra government minister Nawab Malik to file a reply to the defamation suit against him by Dhyandev Kachruji Wankhede, father of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede, Bar and Bench reported on Monday, 8 November.
The court said that Malik should file his reply by Tuesday.
Advocate Arshad Shaikh, appearing on behalf of Wankhede, asked if Malik could be stopped from further defaming the Wankhede family on any kind of media till the high court concluded its judgment.
“Everyday something or the other is posted hence I am here. Today morning only Malik put a tweet supposedly about Sameer Wankhede’s sister-in-law," Wankhede's lawyer argued.
Atul Damle, appearing for Malik, arguing about the maintainability of the suit, and sought two to three days for Malik to file the reply.
But the judge disagreed, adjourned the hearing of the suit to 10 November and directed Malik to reply in court on Tuesday.
Wankhede has sought Rs 1.25 crore in damages from Malik for making defamatory statements, starting from the latter sharing Sameer Wankhede’s birth certificate on social media, and alleging that his father is a Muslim.
In the suit, Dhyandev Wankhede, the plaintiff, claimed that the remarks against the Wankhede family by Malik, either oral or written were “tortious and defamatory”.
Apart from the Rs 1.25 crore, Wankhede has requested the court to ensure that Malik deletes the defamatory statements, press releases and tweets about his family, and has also sought preventive measures for the same.
(With inputs from Bar and Bench)
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