New Delhi [India], May 28 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to Trinamool Congress leader (TMC) and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, Saket Gokhale, directing him to explain why he should not face civil imprisonment for failing to apologize to former diplomat Lakshmi Puri over defamatory social media posts.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora presided over the hearing of an execution petition filed by Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri, seeking enforcement of the final judgment and decree dated July 1, 2024.
The ruling had mandated Gokhale to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages within eight weeks and publish a public apology both in a newspaper and on his X (formerly Twitter) account within four weeks.
On April 24, 2025, the High Court had ordered the attachment of Gokhale's salary, amounting to Rs 1,90,000 per month, until the full decretal sum of Rs 50 lakh was realised.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, representing Lakshmi Puri, highlighted that a coordinate bench hearing a contempt petition had, on May 9, 2025, directed Gokhale to issue the apology within two weeks as per the decree. Singh pointed out that this directive had neither been disclosed to the current Court nor challenged through an appeal, and more significantly, it had not been complied with.
After hearing submissions from both sides, including arguments from Gokhale's Counsel, Naman Joshi, the Court noted that the Judgment Debtor appeared to be disregarding its directives and judicial process. The Court observed that despite granting additional time for compliance, Gokhale had failed to adhere to the decree dated July 1, 2024, as well as the subsequent order issued on May 9, 2025.
In response, the Court issued a show-cause notice to Gokhale, requiring him to explain why he should not be sent to civil imprisonment. The Court further directed him to file a reply within a week.
Lakshmi Puri was represented by Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, briefed by Karanjawala & Company.