The Anil Ambani led Reliance Group filed a defamation suit of Rs 10,000 Crore on News channel NDTV for the coverage on the Rafale deal on 18 October 2018. The lawsuit was filed against NDTV’s weekly show Truth vs Hype which aired on September 29.
Now, the Group has filed a defamation suit against founder editor of The Citizen, Seema Mustafa, on Tuesday, 23 October. The defamation suit is for Rs 7,000 crore and has been filed over the news organisation’s coverage of the Rafale.
In its statement, The Citizen wrote on its website,
Anil Ambani’s, Reliance Infrastructure Limited & Others has filed ‘Suit for damages for Defamation’ against Seema Mustafa Founder- Editor of ‘The Citizen’ before Ahmedabad City Civil Court at Gujarat and demanded damages for a sum of Rs 7000 Crore. The suit follows our coverage on the Rafale defence deal.
The Citizen is a non funded news organization that takes pride in honesty, courage and independence. We believe in professional integrity and maintain a code of ethics centering on public trust, truthfulness, fairness, integrity, independence and accountability. We are determined to fight for the truth.
The case is sub judice so it is difficult to say more at this stage. We need your support and solidarity.
We have rejected Ambani’s charges in toto and thank Senior Advocate, Colin Gonsalves and his legal team including Shreeji Bhavsar, Advocate for their amazing support.
We reject attempts to silence the media, and believe that an independent media — devoid of political or corporate funding — is crucial to the future of journalism. #TheCitizenIsYou
Earlier, in August the Reliance Group had filed a Rs 5,000 crore defamation suit against Congress-owned National Herald, claiming an article published in the newspaper regarding the Rafale fighter jet deal was “libellous and derogatory”.
Also Read :
Rafale Controversy : Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group Sues NDTV For 10,000 Cr On Rafale Deal Coverage