The Bombay High Court directed the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Trust and Param Bir Singh to avoid publishing alleged defamatory content against each other. Justice Milind N. Jadhav passed an interim order in a defamation suit seeking damages and injunction.
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court directed both the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Trust and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh to refrain from publishing or republishing alleged defamatory material about one another in the media.
Justice Milind N. Jadhav issued the interim order on March 26 in a defamation suit brought by the Trust and others against Singh.
The plaintiffs seek damages and a permanent injunction to prevent Singh from making further allegedly defamatory remarks.
The Trust objected to specific material, including an email dated February 2 purportedly sent by Singh to the Trust, and three separate press interviews. According to the Trust, these communications contained allegations about its operations and trustees.
In an earlier order of February 20, the Court had observed prima facie that parts of the material highlighted by the Trust carried serious insinuations affecting the reputation and goodwill of the Trust, which operates a hospital in Mumbai.
As a without‑prejudice interim measure, the Court on Thursday ordered both parties not to publish or republish in the media the statements complained of by the other until the interim application is heard and disposed of.
The Court said,
“Without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the parties and solely as an interim arrangement in the interim application, the parties shall abide by the following interim arrangement till the interim application is heard and disposed of by this court”,
Singh is expressly restrained from publishing or republishing the statements set out in the plaint. Likewise, the Trust is barred from publishing the statements Singh has described in his reply affidavit.
The Court made clear that the interim arrangement does not prejudice either party’s rights or contentions and that both remain free to pursue all legal remedies.
The interim application is listed for further hearing on April 22.
Senior advocate Ashish Kamat, assisted by Rashmin Khandekar, Devesh Juvekar, Dikshat Mehra, Minal Chandani, Mithilesh Chalke and Honey Chandani and briefed by Rajani Associates, represented the Lilavati Mehta Trust. Senior advocate Ravi Kadam, with Rohan Kadam, Joel Carlos, Aniesh Jadhav and Anukul Seth, appeared for Singh.
Case Title: Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Trust and Ors. v. Param Bir Singh.
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