The Patiala House Court in Delhi on November 19, 2018, dismissed Congress Leader Moti Lal Vohra’s application seeking to restrain Subramanian Swamy from tweeting about the ongoing National Herald case.
Additional Chief Metropolitan MagistrateSamar Vishal while dismissing the plea recorded that the court cannot prohibit any person from reporting the proceedings of a case unless and until it is shown that the reporting is patently mala fide and false.
“I am unable to find anything on record. Nothing has been put forth to show that these tweets may have caused any damage to the trial or any prejudice to Court. The tweets placed on record may not be happily worded from the point of view of the Applicant or other accused but how they interfere in the administration of justice or are prejudicial to the defense of the accused is not clear,” the court observed.
The complainant in the case, Subramanian Swamy had accused Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Motilal Vohra, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Gandhi family controlled – Young Indian of cheating (Section 417), criminal conspiracy (Section 120B), criminal breach of trust (Section 406) and misappropriation of property (Section 403) under Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The court with respect to the allegedly defamatory tweets published by Swamy has asked the applicant that “if the applicant considers something as defamatory, he has an appropriate remedy under the defamation law but not contempt.”
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