'National Herald' faces defamation suit of 5000 Cr. by Reliance

The Reliance Group of Companies has filed a defamation suit of Rs. 5,000 crores against ‘National Herald’, owned by Congress, for publishing an article on the Rafale fighter jet deal and alleging it to be slanderous. The case has been filed against the Associated Journals Limited, which is the publisher of National Herald, along with its editor-in-charge and writer of the article. The suit has been filed by Reliance Defence, Reliance Infrastructure, and Reliance Aerostructure, which are a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The City Civil Court has sent notices to the accused and has sought reply for the same by September 7, 2018. The Reliance Group has stated in the suit that the article misleads the general public by making them believe that undue business favors have been extended to the Group by the current government. It has also been alleged that the title of the article is derogatory too, as it says “Anil Ambani floated Reliance Defence 10 days before Modi announced Rafale deal”. It has been stated in the petition that the article portrays a negative image of the company which has adversely affected the goodwill of the company and its Chairman, Anil Ambani. The Reliance Group had earlier sent notices to various Congress leaders demanding to ‘cease and desist’ from making defamatory comments against the company in relation to rafale deal.