Who will now hear Ravi Nair’s plea to bring news reports on record in his appeal against conviction for defaming Adani Enterprises? Not Justice S.V. Pinto of the Gujarat High Court, who has recused, so another judge will have to take it up.
Ahmedabad: Stepping back from a journalist’s criminal revision application, Justice S.V. Pinto of the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday, October 13, recused from hearing Ravi Nair’s challenge to a sessions court order that refused him permission to produce additional evidence in his appeal against his conviction in a criminal defamation case filed by Adani Enterprises Ltd [Ravi Nair v. State of Gujarat & Anr.].
The one-line oral order recorded:
“Not before this Court.”
No reasons were recorded for the recusal, and the matter will now have to be listed before another Bench. Advocates Abhik Chimni and Ronith Joy appeared for Nair, and the Public Prosecutor for the State.
The material Nair wants placed before the appellate court
Nair’s revision application says the documents he seeks to produce are the full texts of third-party news reports, which the complainant’s own Exhibits 46 to 62 already refer to. He argues that truth and public good are defences to the charge and that he consciously chose not to lead formal defence evidence. According to him, the trial court never ruled on admitting the documents he tendered at the final-argument stage, and Section 314 CrPC lays down no procedure for marking documents at that point.
He also leans on his statement under Section 313 CrPC of November 6, 2025, in which he told the trial court that he would produce documentary evidence at the stage of arguments. His prayer is that the sessions court order be set aside and that his application to produce the news reports and other material be allowed.
From a conviction in Mansa to the July 22 order
The case began with a criminal defamation complaint by Adani Enterprises, alleging that tweets published by Nair carried false and defamatory statements about the company and the Adani Group. The Judicial Magistrate First Class, Mansa, convicted him on February 10, 2026 and sentenced him to one year of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. He appealed to the sessions court, which suspended the sentence while the appeal is pending.
In that appeal, Nair applied for leave to produce additional evidence. The sessions court rejected the application on July 22. It held that Section 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure demands strict due diligence, comparable to Order 41 Rule 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and that Nair had a fair opportunity at trial which he willingly avoided using. Mentioning the documents during final arguments without a formal application, it said, was not enough.
Earlier rounds in the Adani case
In September, Nair was arrested on a non-bailable warrant issued by the sessions court for his non-appearance. He approached both the Supreme Court and the Gujarat High Court for release, and the sessions court in Gandhinagar subsequently granted him regular bail. The High Court closed his challenge to the arrest, faulting the non-disclosure of his parallel bail application.
ALSO READ: Gandhinagar Court Grants Regular Bail To Journalist Ravi Nair In The Adani Defamation Case
The appeal against the conviction is pending, and the contentions in the revision application are Nair’s. Adani Enterprises’ response to the revision application is not yet on record, and the High Court has expressed no view on the merits.
Case Title: Ravi Nair v. State of Gujarat & Anr.
Case No.: R/Criminal Revision Application No. 2945 of 2026
Bench: Justice S.V. Pinto
Date of Order: October 13, 2026
Appearances: Advocates Abhik Chimni and Ronith Joy for the applicant; Public Prosecutor for the State