New Delhi [India], November 17 : The Karkardooma court in the national captial on Monday issued summons against some media organisations in the defamation suit filed by businessman Anil Ambani while refusing to grant any ex parte ad-interim injunction at this stage and says it will hear the defendants also before deciding them to stop reporting.
The Court observed that the case did not warrant immediate one-sided protection at this stage, stating, "I don't think you have a strong enough case right now to justify an ex parte ad-interim injunction. I will issue summons. No ex parte order."
Appearing for Anil Ambani, advocate Vijay Aggarwal submitted before the Court that he was not pressing for an ex parte order and requested that both parties be heard before any interim relief is considered. Accepting the request, senior Civil Judge Vivek Beniwal listed the matter for hearing on December 5.
Anil Ambani has approached the court claiming that recent reports of some media outlets accusing his companies of diverting over ₹41,000 crore have caused serious damage to his reputation and undermined investor confidence. He contends that the allegations were published without verification and are "false, misleading, and defamatory."
The reports in question originated from an investigation published on October 30, which alleged that funds worth ₹41,921 crore were moved among various Reliance Group entities since 2006 in violation of financial norms. The claims were later carried by several prominent media outlets, increasing their public impact and reach.
Ambani has sought to restrain further publication or circulation of the allegations until the suit is decided. The suit names multiple parties, including Cobrapost, Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd. (Publishers of The Economic Times and The Times of India), Live Media & Publishers Pvt. Ltd. and John Doe defendants likely to further disseminate any allegedly defamatory content.