A Delhi court has issued summons to Aroon Purie, Chairman of India Today, Vice Chairman Kallie Purie, and other top officials of the news network in a criminal defamation case filed by Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai. The case revolves around allegations made by India Today linking Rai to conman Sanjay Sherpuria.
Judicial Magistrate Tarunpreet Kaur, presiding at the Patiala House Courts, found enough grounds to issue the summons, citing that the articles published by India Today might have defamed Rai. The stories in question were published on the website of Aaj Tak, a channel under the India Today Group, and suggested that Rai had been questioned by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) regarding his alleged connection to Sherpuria.
Rai has firmly contested these allegations, asserting that the publications falsely portrayed him as a relative of Sanjay Rai Sherpuria. The summons were issued under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with defamation, with the next court date set to determine further proceedings.
This case is not isolated, as Rai has also taken legal action against another news channel, ABP News, for similar defamatory claims. The backdrop to these allegations involves Sherpuria, a businessman from Lucknow accused of exploiting connections to high-ranking officials to solicit funds fraudulently.
