New Delhi: News portal The Wire was ordered by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday to remove a report that connected Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar's son Karan Chauhan to a case about increased land valuation, according to Bar and Bench.
The article was released on 9 November with the heading "Links of son of Delhi Chief Secretary to Beneficiary's Family in Land Over-Valuation Case Raise Questions." It had claimed Chauhan was associated with a family that had profited from inflated payments for a 19-acre plot of land in Bamnoli village, Delhi, that the National Highway Authority of India had purchased.
A 2018 ruling by the additional district magistrate awarding two brothers Rs 41.52 crore as compensation for property seized for the Dwarka Motorway road project was overturned on 15 May by the district magistrate of southwest Delhi. According to the Hindustan Times, the 2018 decision to grant Rs 41.52 crore for the land was based on a valuation of Rs 53 lakh per acre, the Scroll.in reported.
The May order, on the other hand, gave compensation of Rs 353 crore to two individuals, Subhash Chand Kathuria and his brother Vinod Kathuria.
According to the Wire story, Aman Sarin, the son-in-law of Subhash Chand Kathuria and owner of the real estate company Anantraj Limited, had business ties to Chauhan.
In an attempt to stop The Wire from publishing slanderous articles about him and his family, Kumar filed a defamation lawsuit in the High Court on November 9. Additionally, Kumar demanded Rs 2.05 crore in compensation for defaming him.
Kumar had pleaded in his appeal that the news website intended to target him on social media by publishing the piece.
The Wire's advocate, Sarim Naved, told the court that the post had only brought up specific concerns and that it was the website's responsibility to challenge the government and bureaucrats.
However, Justice Sachin Datta of the High Court questioned the basis of the article. “Today I need to see what is the balance of convenience,” he said, reported the Hindustan Times. “Show me that there is a semblance of truth in your allegation. As a member of the press, is there no law against sensationalism? You can indulge in exaggeration?”
The court also observed: “While freedom of speech and expression is sacrosanct, the reputation of a person earned over several decades, cannot be sacrificed at the altar of such freedom, when the impugned publication, ex-facie, contains unsubstantiated allegations and defamatory imputations, regardless of the truth.”
Following the High Court order, the news website took down the article and replaced it with a note saying: “This article is being taken down as per the ad-interim injunction ordered by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court. We reserve our right to take appropriate recourse in this matter.”
Delhi minister Atishi had suggested dismissing divisional commissioner Ashwani Kumar and Naresh Kumar from their positions last week based on a complaint raised by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
According to the minister, Kumar was involved in the increased land valuation, at least according to preliminary reports. But Lieutenant Governor Vinay Saxena of Delhi turned down this suggestion on Sunday.