Actor Nagarjuna Akkineni has filed a criminal defamation complaint against Telangana Minister Konda Surekha for her comments linking BRS leader KT Rama Rao to the divorce of his son, Naga Chaitanya, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Nagarjuna, along with his son and wife, recorded his statement in court on Tuesday, alleging that the minister’s remarks damaged his family’s reputation.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been issued summons by a Pune court in a separate defamation case, adding to his legal troubles. This follows a similar summons issued by a Nashik court for allegedly defamatory remarks against late freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The Pune case was filed by Satyaki Savarkar, a grandnephew of the late leader, who claims Gandhi made objectionable remarks during a London event in March 2023. Gandhi is now required to appear before the Pune court on October 23.
Voting technology company Smartmatic and conservative cable network Newsmax have settled a defamation lawsuit, averting a trial that was scheduled to begin next week. The specifics of the confidential settlement remain undisclosed, but the agreement was reached during jury selection. This case would have been significant, as it would have been the first to determine whether a cable news network made defamatory claims about a voting technology company in relation to the 2020 election.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut was sentenced to 15 days in prison for defamatory remarks against BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s wife, Medha Somaiya. However, he was granted bail shortly after the conviction, with the sentence suspended for 30 days. The case stemmed from accusations made by Raut in 2022 regarding a ₹100 crore scam involving public toilets, which Somaiya denied.
The Supreme Court has stayed proceedings in a criminal defamation case filed against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for his 2018 comment comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a ‘scorpion sitting on a Shivling’. The court issued notice on Tharoor’s petition challenging the Delhi High Court’s ruling that his remark was defamatory. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Rajeev Babbar who claimed Tharoor’s statement hurt his religious sentiments.
The Delhi High Court issued a contempt notice to Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia, for failing to comply with an order to disclose information about edits made to the Wikipedia page of Indian news agency ANI. The court’s stern warning comes amid a defamation suit filed by ANI against Wikipedia over allegedly defamatory content.
A federal court has resurrected a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times filed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, after the lower court dismissed it during jury deliberations. The lawsuit stems from a 2017 editorial connecting Palin’s campaign to the shooting of then-Representative Gabby Giffords, a claim the court now says may have been influenced by the judge’s dismissal notification to the jury.
The Madras High Court dismissed a defamation suit filed by a former DMK union chairperson against former AIADMK minister S P Velumani. The suit stemmed from Velumani’s alleged defamatory statements linking the plaintiff to a sexual harassment incident. The court found the plaintiff’s evidence unreliable and dismissed the suit, granting a permanent injunction against Velumani from repeating the statement.
A Delhi court has suspended the sentence awarded to social activist Medha Patkar in a criminal defamation case filed by former Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena. The court also granted Patkar bail and issued a notice to Saxena seeking his response on September 4th.
A Delhi court has summoned YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and social media platforms in a defamation suit filed by Suresh Karamshi Nakhua, a BJP spokesperson. The suit alleges that Rathee’s video falsely accused Nakhua of being a violent and abusive troll, causing damage to his reputation.
