The Delhi High Court has turned up the heat on Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, warning of civil imprisonment for his continued refusal to apologize to former diplomat Lakshmi Puri—despite a clear judicial order.
This legal saga began in 2021 when Puri, a former Assistant Secretary-General at the United Nations and wife of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, filed a defamation suit against Gokhale over a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter). Gokhale had accused her of acquiring property in Switzerland allegedly disproportionate to her declared income—claims the Court later ruled defamatory.
In July 2024, the High Court ordered Gokhale to cough up ₹50 lakh in damages and issue a formal apology—both in a national newspaper and on his social media account. Gokhale neither paid up nor apologized.
Instead of making amends, Gokhale reportedly attempted to submit an apology under seal—an offer the Court flatly rejected earlier this month. Today, during a hearing on Puri’s execution plea, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora noted with visible displeasure that Gokhale’s side had no fresh instructions. That silence spoke volumes.
“It almost appears to the court that he is mocking at the Court and its process,” Justice Arora remarked, issuing a stern show-cause notice to Gokhale under the Code of Civil Procedure.
The Court had already taken steps last month to begin attaching a portion of Gokhale’s MP salary due to his non-payment of damages. His legal team promised to update the Court on the status of that salary deduction in the next hearing.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Lakshmi Puri, underlined the deeper stakes: “This is not just about damages. It is an apology for the destruction of my client’s reputation.”
The Court has scheduled the next hearing for September 3.
Until then, Gokhale faces a narrowing corridor of options—and a court that has made clear it will not tolerate defiance.
