Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group sued news channel NDTV in an Ahmedabad court for Rs 10,000 crore for the channel’s reportage on the Rafale deal.
CEO of the NDTV Group, Suparna Singh called the move a “brazen attempt at harassment and intimidation” on Thursday.
NDTV has been sued by Anil Ambani’s Reliance for 10,000 crores in an AHMEDABAD court. For our coverage of Rafale. We will fight this brazen attempt at harassment and intimidation.
— Suparna Singh (@Suparna_Singh) October 18, 2018
In a statement issued by the channel, it rejected defamation charges. The statement read, “The lawsuit is filed against NDTV’s weekly show, Truth vs Hype, which aired on September 29. Top executives of Reliance ignored repeated, multiple and written requests to appear on the show or comment on what is being widely discussed not just in India but in France as well – whether Anil Ambani’s Reliance was transparently chosen as the partner for Dassault in a deal that saw India buying 36 fighter jets.
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Remember that just days before this show aired, the role of Reliance appeared to have been questioned by none other than Francois Hollande, who was the president of France when the deal was struck. The NDTV show reported all sides of the story including Dassault’s denial that it had been under any pressure to select Reliance. The panellists, in a balanced discussion, examined whether issues like Reliance’s vast debt and record in defence manufacturing made it a suitable choice for Dassault in India.
As the Rafale deal has become a larger news story in India, the Reliance group has been on a notice-serving spree; to sue a news company for 10,000 crores in a court in Gujarat on false and frivolous charges, ignoring facts that are widely reported everywhere and not just by NDTV, can only be interpreted as an unsophisticated warning to the media to stop doing its job.”
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The hearing is scheduled for October 26.
Several Twitter users slammed Anil Ambani for trying to intimidate news organisations.
Getting 21K Cr Commission as ‘offset contracts’ due to being Modi’s crony is not enough for Anil Ambani in the scandalous Rafale deal. They want another 10K Cr from NDTV! Not unlike MJ Akbar seeking to sue Priya Ramani after being outed by 20 women of sexual harassment! https://t.co/yRVCyBl7EG
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) October 18, 2018
Defamation suits against @thewire_in, @NH_India, @NDTV; “surveys” on @TheNewsMinute, @TheQuint, death threats to Ravish, @abhisar_sharma; vicious trolling of critical women journos like @bainjal, @rohini_sgh et al — media intimidation has crossed its breaking point already.
— Angshukanta (@angshukanta) October 18, 2018
Absolutely outrageous. This is nothing but intimidation of the free press. Won’t work https://t.co/O2nnc2E3Me
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) October 18, 2018
If you Report on Rafale or against a desperate NDA/BJP Govt you will get slapped with a SLAAP – Strategic Law Suit against Public Participation & ED notice simultaneously.Raghav Behl yesterday,NDTV today, It would be you tomorrow. FIGHT!https://t.co/DO1jzPUhQH @PrannoyRoyNDTV
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) October 19, 2018
NDTV has been sued by Anil Ambani’s Reliance for ₹10K crores just because they covered the #RafaleDeal
NDTV is the only media house which has been sued for defamation.
On the other hand channels like Zee & Republic are being paid by Reliance for not covering the deal ????
— Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRai) October 18, 2018
I support your fight. Anil Ambani is trying to intimidate media. But he will not succeed. #solidarity https://t.co/g9wgahIGrv
— nikhil wagle (@waglenikhil) October 18, 2018