The Court ruled that Gokhale raked up the remote and antiquated issue not because he was interested in the financial affairs of Lakshmi Puri but her husband, Hardeep Puri, who now holds a ministerial post in the Central Government.
"..through the offending tweets, he [Saket Gokhale] went on a tirade alleging and insinuating that the plaintiff [Lakshmi Puri] and her husband [Hardeep Puri] had acquired the apartment through illbegotten wealth.," the Court said.
It added,"Financial integrity and probity is a sine-qua-non for holding any public office.
Very few allegations can hurt a person associated with public office more than an allegation of financial impropriety.
The Court concluded that Gokhale's tweets are per-se defamatory and Lakshmi Puri has "suffered undeserved legal injury to her reputation, which warrants redressal".
In a detailed order, Justice Bhambhani held that Gokhale's allegations to be "incorrect, false and untrue".
It further observed that messages on social-media generate a "social-media chain reaction as it were, which is no less dangerous in today’s milieu than a nuclear reaction gone out of control".
The Court ruled that Gokhale raked up the remote and antiquated issue not because he was interested in the financial affairs of Lakshmi Puri but her husband, Hardeep Puri, who now holds a ministerial post in the Central Government.
"..through the offending tweets, he [Saket Gokhale] went on a tirade alleging and insinuating that the plaintiff [Lakshmi Puri] and her husband [Hardeep Puri] had acquired the apartment through illbegotten wealth.," the Court said.
It added,
"Financial integrity and probity is a sine-qua-non for holding any public office. Very few allegations can hurt a person associated with public office more than an allegation of financial impropriety. It is also nearly impossible to dispel misinformation in relation to such matters, once it is disseminated to the public at large."
The Court concluded that Gokhale's tweets are per-se defamatory and Lakshmi Puri has "suffered undeserved legal injury to her reputation, which warrants redressal".
