New Delhi, May 2 (HS): The Delhi High Court has dismissed the petition of Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale in the case of derogatory tweets (now X). In fact, in the case of tweets made against former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Lakshmi Puri, the court had imposed a fine of 50 lakh rupees and ordered Gokhale to apologize on social media. Gokhale had filed a petition to withdraw it. Justice Purushendra Kaul has ordered the dismissal of Saket Gokhale’s petition.
The High Court stated that Gokhale will have to pay the fine of 50 lakh rupees. Earlier, on April 24, the High Court had ordered that the fine amount of 50 lakh rupees imposed on Gokhale be deducted from his salary. The court had stated that 1 lakh 90 thousand rupees would be deposited in the court monthly from Saket Gokhale’s salary as a member of parliament until the 50 lakh rupees are recovered.
The High Court had issued a notice to Lakshmi Puri on March 6 regarding the petition seeking the withdrawal of the fine imposition order. Gokhale’s lawyer claimed that the High Court’s order was issued unilaterally as their lawyer could not appear. In its order of July 1, 2024, the High Court directed Gokhale to pay 50 lakh rupees to Lakshmi Puri in the case of the derogatory tweets made against her. In its order dated July 1, 2024, the High Court not only imposed a fine on Saket Gokhale but also instructed him to publish an apology regarding this matter in the English newspaper Times of India. Lakshmi Puri had filed the petition in 2021.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, representing Puri, stated that Saket Gokhale tweeted asking about the source of Puri’s income. He mentioned that Gokhale, in his tweets dated June 13, 2021, and June 23, 2021, claimed that he has a fundamental right to know the name of Puri’s daughter and what all she has been given. Gokhale alleged in his tweet that Puri purchased something with the salary from the central government, which he wants to know about.
Maninder Singh noted that just as TV anchor The Nation Wants to Know states, Gokhale also said, I want to know. The tweet stated that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman should investigate. He behaves as if he is above the ED and CBI. Gokhale had tweeted that in 2006, he was an ambassador in Geneva on deputation, which is incorrect. The tweet mentioned that at that time, his salary was 1.25 million rupees, so how was a property worth 15 million rupees purchased in Geneva? It was bought with black money.
Maninder Singh stated that whatever property Puri has is public. His property has decreased from 2.5 million to 1.5 million.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
