Former Indian batter and Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir has filed a defamation suit against Hindi Newspaper Punjab Kesari. The case has been filed by Gautam Gambhir as one of the reports published in the daily newspaper allegedly compared him with the mythical demon ‘Bhasmasur’.
Gambhir has taken legal action against Punjab Kesari editor Aditya Chopra and correspondents Amit Kumar and Imran Khan for misusing their journalistic freedom. Gautam Gambhir, who’s also a Member of Parliament from BJP, further sued the newspaper for publishing numerous fake and defamatory articles targeting the former Indian cricketer.
The case has been filed through advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai. The LSG mentor quoted several reports and claimed that Punjab Kesari gave a misleading angle to its stories. According to a report by ‘Bar and Bench’, one of the reports in the daily newspaper allegedly compared him with the mythical demon ‘Bhasmasur’.
Some of the Punjab Kesari reports mentioned in the lawsuit as per Bar and Bench are:
Sansad Gautam Gambhir Lapata Gali-Gali Me Lage Poster (MP Gautam Gambhir goes missing, posters come up in streets)
Dilli ke lapata Sansad Lucknow Super Giants ke liye bane ‘Bhasmasur’ (Delhi’s missing MP becomes Bhasmasur for Lucknow Super Giants)
Adesh Gupta bolte reh gaye, Gautam Gambhir uth chale (Adesh Gupta kept talking, Gautam Gambhir left)
Ye Naye Mijaz ke Sansad hai Jara Faaslo se Mila Karo (This is the MP of a new frame of mind, please keep distance while meeting him).
“It is the respectful case of the Plaintiff that the pattern of these defamatory publications is indicative of a willful campaign launched by the Defendants to lower the reputation and standing of the Plaintiff in the eyes of his constituents, supporters, and the public at large The Defendants undertook no effort to confirm or corroborate the veracity of their publication – which further points out their collective malaise against the Plaintiff,” the law suit stated.
According to the defamation suit, the reports published in Punjab Kesari claim Gautam Gambhir to be a casteist person and an arrogant politician. The LSG mentor filed a suit before the Delhi High Court and has asked for damages worth INR 2 crores which will be donated to charitable organisations.
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Gambhir has also asked that Punjab Kesari should submit an unconditional apology which should be published in all newspapers (including digital versions) circulated by the group. The former Indian batter also wants them to withdraw each and every defamatory report published against him.