ACMM grants bail to Jairam Ramesh in Vivek Doval criminal defamation case

The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Patiala House Court today granted bail to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in the defamation suit filed by Vivek Doval against him..Bail was granted by ACMM Samar Vishal on personal bond and surety of Rs 20,000 each..Editor-in-Chief of The Caravan Paresh Nath and journalist Kaushal Shroff were granted bail in the criminal defamation case on April 25. .After the Court framed charges of defamation, the three accused pleaded not guilty as they claimed truth as their defence..“…(The Press conference was) factual…based on material in public domain. It was done in public interest. We are public personalities. It is out duty to raise issues on which many questions arise. The press conference was not personal, it was purely professional. No intent to defame but intent to raise questions which public is entitled to”, Jairam Ramesh had added. .JudgeSamar Vishal had summoned Ramesh, Nath and Shroff to court on March 2 after concluding that their allegations against Doval were prima facie defamatory..Vivek Doval had filed the defamation suit after The Caravan published an article titled The D Companies, which alleged that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s sons run a web of companies, including a Cayman Islands hedge fund to round-trip black money during the time of demonetization, even as their father demanded a crackdown on tax havens..It was Doval’s case that the insinuations in the article were made “in a concerted effort to inflict injury” on him and his family. In his statement before the Court, Vivek Doval claimed that the purpose behind the article and the press conference led by Ramesh was to run a “malicious campaign” against the Doval family..He further alleged that the article, which was published without any due diligence, damaged his professional career and reputation as a hedge fund manager..Judge Samar Vishal had taken cognizance of Doval’s criminal defamation complaint against The Caravan, Jairam Ramesh and author of the article Kaushal Shroff on January 22..Paresh Nath was represented by Advocate Rajat Agnihotri..Jairam Ramesh was represented by Advocate Omar Hoda..The matter will be next heard on May 27 for recording of evidence..Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.