The Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed an interim application filed by the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust, which runs Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital, seeking to restrain HDFC Bank, its Managing Director and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, and others from making allegedly defamatory statements against the Trust and its members.
The Trust had moved the application in a defamation suit seeking damages of ₹1,000 crore, alleging that HDFC Bank and its senior executives had made statements to the media and on social media platforms that harmed the Trust’s reputation, as per PTI.
A bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan rejected the plea, holding that the statements in question were not defamatory and were factually accurate.
The court also imposed costs of ₹5 lakh on the Trust, payable to HDFC Bank.
According to the court, HDFC Bank’s statements that the Trust and its trustee Prashant Mehta owed money to the bank were factually correct and therefore constituted truthful speech.
The bench further noted that the statements were made in response to what it described as a sustained media campaign of articles against HDFC Bank and its senior executives.
The Trust had sought directions restraining the defendants from making similar statements in the future and had also sought damages of ₹1,000 crore.
HDFC Bank opposed the plea, contending that the Trust and its trustees had borrowed money from the bank and defaulted on repayments.
In its judgment, the court said the bank’s statements that the trustees owed substantial sums that had not been repaid and that recovery and enforcement actions had been initiated were factually accurate and could not be termed defamatory.
Also Read: Quality Power to buy insulator maker Winwin in ₹315 crore deal
