Saket Gokhale, the outspoken Trinamool Congress MP, finds himself navigating a storm brewed by a Delhi High Court verdict ordering him to pay ₹50 lakh in damages for defamatory tweets aimed at former diplomat Lakshmi Puri. The Court had slammed Gokhale’s social media posts as baseless and malicious, mandating an apology to be published in a major newspaper. But Gokhale isn’t taking the ruling lying down—he’s filing a challenge against both the hefty damages and the public apology demand.
In a twist of legal chess, Gokhale pledged to apologize as directed but contests the compensation and the conditions tied to his apology. His counsel argued that his tweets fell within “fair comment” territory and that no direct accusations of corruption were ever made. Meanwhile, the Court pushed back on delaying the apology, emphasizing that Gokhale had only approached the Court at the last moment before a vacation, leaving little room for leniency.
Lakshmi Puri, wife of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, claims Gokhale’s accusations — suggesting her Swiss property holdings far exceeded her income — were founded on false premises. The Court’s earlier judgment branded Gokhale’s allegations “incorrect, false and untrue,” highlighting the ripple effect of social media as a dangerously potent force akin to a runaway nuclear reaction.
Despite Gokhale’s legal maneuvering, the Court made it clear: the apology must be published promptly, while damages remain a contested issue. With Gokhale’s salary already partially attached and threats of civil imprisonment looming if he delays further, the courtroom drama over defamation and free speech continues to unfold—setting a high-stakes precedent for the power and peril of words in the digital age.
The saga is set to resume with fresh arguments in July, but the message is loud and clear: in today’s hyperconnected world, every tweet carries weight—and consequences.
