New Delhi, June 10 (IANS) Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale on Tuesday tendered an apology to former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri, wife of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, for a series of defamatory tweets posted in 2021 regarding her purchase of property abroad.

The apology came after the Delhi High Court, in a July 2024 judgment, directed him to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages for making “wrong and unverified allegations”.

Taking to X, Gokhale wrote, “I unconditionally apologise for having put out a series of tweets against Amb. Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri on 13th and 23rd June 2021, which tweets contained wrong and unverified allegations in relation to the purchase of property by Amb. Puri abroad, which I sincerely regret.”

The apology follows the court’s directive that Gokhale must publish an apology in a national newspaper and on social media within four weeks, and keep the apology tweet visible on his X account for a period of six months.

The Delhi High Court had earlier noted that the defamatory statements caused “irreparable harm” to Lakshmi Puri’s reputation and barred Gokhale from posting any further defamatory content against her.

The court had also ordered the attachment of Gokhale’s salary as a Member of Parliament until the Rs 50 lakh was deposited with the court registry.

On May 28, the High Court questioned Gokhale on why he should not be sent to civil prison for failing to comply with the earlier order regarding damages payment.

The defamation suit stemmed from a series of posts made by Gokhale in June 2021, in which he accused Lakshmi Puri of acquiring property in Switzerland disproportionate to her known sources of income.

He also mentioned Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in the posts, prompting legal action from the former diplomat.

The court’s July 2024 judgment concluded that the statements made by Gokhale were defamatory and awarded Rs 50 lakh in damages to the plaintiff.

It also directed Gokhale to disclose all his assets, properties, bank accounts, and deposits in an affidavit within four weeks after the contempt proceedings began in December last year.

The court held the Trinamool leader’s actions as “wilful and deliberate non-compliance” of the judgment.

A fresh blow came for Gokhale on May 2 this year when Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav rejected his plea seeking a recall of the July 2024 order, thereby upholding the original decision.

–IANS

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