Lawfare – Defamation, Journalists

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar has filed a ₹100 crore defamation case against Reporter TV. The case is against nine people, including Reporter owner Anto Augustine, Consulting Editor Arun Kumar, Coordinating Editor Smrithi Paruthikad, News Coordinator Jimmy James, and Thiruvananthapuram Bureau Chief TV Prasad.

The Rs 100 crore notice was issued through the Mumbai-based law firm RHP Partners after fake news was continuously broadcast, misusing his name as the BJP state president by linking him to a land deal of a company called BPL, with which Rajeev Chandrasekhar has no connection. The notice demands that the fake news be withdrawn and an apology issued within seven days.

Allegations are baseless, says BPL
Earlier, BPL had clarified that the industrial land irregularity allegation raised by a section of the media against BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar was baseless and factually incorrect. The allegation now being raised is about an irregularity in land allotment, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2003. BPL Limited stated in a press release that these allegations are untrue and have no legal validity.