Supreme Court stays defamation case by Rohini Sindhuri IAS against D Roopa Moudgil IPS

The Supreme Court on December 15 ordered an interim stay on criminal defamation proceedings initiated by IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri against IPS officer D Roopa Moudgil..A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal also directed the senior Karnataka-based civil servants not to speak to the media."The Criminal Case subject matter of this petition will not proceed further ... Considering the fact that we are making an attempt to resolve all the disputes pending between the parties, none of them shall give any interview or any information to the media, social and print, in any form," the bench directed.The case will be heard next on January 12, 2024..The Supreme Court was hearing Moudgil's appeal against a Karnataka High Court order passed in August this year. In the said order, the High Court had refused to quash a criminal defamation case initiated by Sindhuri against Moudgil.On February 18 this year, Sindhuri discovered that Moudgil had made several allegations against her in Facebook posts. In these posts, Moudgil accused Sindhuri of sharing her private pictures with fellow IAS officers.This led to a public spat between the two, prompting the State government to transfer both officers.On February 21, Sindhuri issued a legal notice to Moudgil and demanded an unconditional apology and ₹1 crore in damages for the loss of her reputation and mental agony.On March 24, a Bengaluru court, which was hearing the private suit filed by Sindhuri, ordered the initiation of a criminal defamation case against Roopa.Moudgil then moved the High Court to have the same quashed. On August 21, the Karnataka High Court rejected her plea.High Court judge Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum observed that Moudgil's statements on social media account and print media warranted a criminal trial.Moudgil then approached the apex court.On December 13 (Wednesday), the Supreme Court recommended mediation in the matter in view of the high ranks of the parties involved. Public spats between such officials would demean the administration and its image, the top court had remarked. Justice Oka also advised the two officers to avoid 'mud-slinging.'A day later, on December 14 (Thursday) the top court suggested that the IPS officer give an undertaking that she would remove all social media posts against Sindhuri and apologise so that the issue could be settled. The bench further commented that if the officers continued to fight and refuse meditation, the State administration would come to a standstill..On December 15 (Friday), the bench went through an undertaking given by Moudgil on affidavit. The bench orally noted that the same was being produced not as per any order as such, but following a suggestion to the IPS officer so that the case could be brought to a close. In her affidavit, Moudgil informed the apex court that she has deleted all her social media posts against the bureaucrat, including those not related to the defamation case.The same was taken on record, and the top court proceeded to stay the defamation proceedings as an interim measure. .Senior Advocate Aditya Sondhi with advocate Shubranshu Padhi appeared for D Roopa.Senior Advocate Vinay Navare with advocate R Ilam Paridi appeared for Rohini Sindhuri..[Read order]