A Delhi court has summoned the news network India Today, including its Chairman Aroon Purie, Vice Chairman Kallie Purie, and other office bearers, in answer to a criminal defamation action filed by Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai.
The dispute revolves around claims that India Today published inaccurate and derogatory articles linking Advocate Rai to conman Sanjay Sherpuriya.
Judicial Magistrate Tarunpreet Kaur of the Patiala High Court issued the summons on 26th July following the court’s discovery of a prima facie case suggesting that Advocate Rai had been unfairly defamed by these stories.
Advocate Rai has filed a defamation lawsuit against India Today and its office bearers for two stories that were posted on the website of the Aaj Tak news channel. Rai claims that Rai was contacted by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) to be questioned about the Sanjay Sherpuria case.
According to Rai Sherpuria, the papers were false and made a defamatory claim that he is the nephew of conman Sanjay Sherpuria.
Additionally, Rai has also sued ABP Network for criminal defamation, and the Court has summoned the channel and its office bearers in the same case.
Sanjay Sherpuria is a businessman from Lucknow who was arrested on charges that he and his associates solicited money from various persons by stating close links to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and senior bureaucrats.
