Relief for ex-PM Deve Gowda, SC refuses to interfere with Karnataka HC order in defamation case
New Delhi, Sep 9: In a relief to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the Karnataka High Court order staying execution of a trial court decree asking him to pay Rs 2 crore in a defamation suit filed against him by a construction company.
The apex court, however, acknowledged statements made by influential public figures against corporate entities do affect their reputation, share prices and investments.
The trial court had, in an order on the defamation suit on June 17, 2021, directed Deve Gowda to pay Rs 2 crore as damages to the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) for his "defamatory statement" against the company in a television interview 10 years ago.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli, while hearing an appeal filed by NICE, noted the high court in its order of February 17, 2022 directed Deve Gowda not make any statement, which is defamatory, pending the disposal of the first appeal.
"Since the High Court has passed a discretionary order staying the execution of the decree passed by the trial court imposing compensation in a suit for defamation pending the first appeal, we are not inclined to entertain a petition under Article 136 of the Constitution.
"The High Court has also directed that the respondent shall not make any statement, which is defamatory, pending the disposal of the first appeal," the bench said.
It told senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for NICE, that derogatory words like "loot" were used by Deve Gowda, which could affect the reputation of the company.
"We agree with you, statements made by influential public figures against the corporate entities do affect their reputations including the share prices and investments," it said.
The bench said if there is any breach of the direction of the high court by the former prime minister, the company will be at liberty to move the HC for vacating the interim order.
"We also clarify that the observations in the impugned order shall not weigh in the final disposal of the first appeal since it was confined to the question of interim stay of execution of the decree," it said and dismissed the appeal of the company.
At the fag end of the hearing, the bench asked Kaul whether the statements by the former PM were made with respect to the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC), which is a six lane expressway connecting the two cities, to which he replied in the affirmative.
"We also take into account the public confidence in the project," the bench then noted.
The trial court had on June 17 last year permanently restrained Deve Gowda from making any defamatory statement against NICE and directed him to pay Rs 2 crore as damages.
The project was cleared by Deve Gowda himself when he was the Karnataka chief minister in 1995 on Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis.
The company had filed a defamation case against the Janata Dal (secular) leader seeking Rs 10 crore as damages after he gave an interview to a local news channel on June 28, 2011 during which he called the project "loot".
The trial court had observed the project was upheld by the High Court of Karnataka and the Supreme Court in their judgments.
The project undertaken by the company is a massive one which is in the larger interest of Karnataka, the trial court had said.
"Hence, if defamatory statements like the present one are allowed to be made in future, definitely, implementation of such a massive project like the present one, which is undertaken in the larger public interest of the State of Karnataka, is going to be delayed.
"Therefore, this Court feels that it is necessary to curb such statements by issuing permanent injunction against the defendant," the trial court had said in its order.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
