New Delhi: Former Union Minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar has filed a defamation suit against Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in the Delhi High Court, demanding Rs 10 crore as damages for defamation and tarnishing his reputation.
The high court issued a notice to Tharoor on Monday. The order was passed by Justice Purushanindra Kumar Kaurav, who called for a response from Tharoor, and directed the matter to be listed before the joint registrar on 28 April.
The suit concerns statements made by Tharoor during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which he won against his rival Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency by 16,077 votes. Tharoor allegedly accused the former Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology of bribing voters.
Responding to the allegations, Chandrasekhar said last April he would take legal action. “Shashi Tharoor should disclose to whom I gave money. With his baseless allegation, he has also damaged the reputation of religious and community organizations in the capital,” he posted on ‘X’.
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“Rest assured, I will ensure that this slander is countered using all legal means. It’s disgraceful to see a three-time MP stooping to third-rate politics in his desperation.”
The suit alleges that Tharoor defamed Chandrashekhar through false statements which were made in public forums, damaging his personal reputation.
“It is stated that the publications disparage and denigrates the reputation and lowers the esteem of the Plaintiff (Chandrasekhar) in estimation of general public. This is a clear case of a malafide approach by the Defendant (Tharoor) which has made an irreversible impact on the reputation and goodwill of the Plaintiff and put a mark on the political career of the Plaintiff,” the suit submitted.
Chandrasekhar even alleged that Tharoor’s actions “directly contributed to the Plaintiff’s narrow defeat in the recent election for the Thiruvananthapuram constituency”.
The former MP was represented by senior advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, who was briefed by a team of law firm Karanjawala and Company.
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Criminal defamation also filed
Last year, Chandrasekhar had also initiated criminal defamation proceedings against Tharoor in the Patiala House Court. These proceedings were transferred to an MP/MLA court in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court.
In that suit as well, Chandrasekhar alleged that Tharoor made false and derogatory imputations against him on national television, with an intent to lower his reputation.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Paras Dalal is likely to pass an order Monday on whether it should summon Tharoor in the criminal defamation case.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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