Rafale Row: Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group Files Rs 10,000 Crore Defamation Case Against NDTV

Amid controversy surrounding the Rafale jet deal, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group on Thursday filed Rs 10,000 crore defamation suit against NDTV in an Ahmedabad for the channel’s coverage of the fighter jet deal. The defamation lawsuit was filed based on an episode of NDTV’s weekly show Truth vs Hype that aired on September 29.

The CEO of the NDTV Group, Suparna Singh, said in a tweet, “NDTV has been sued by Anil Ambani’s Reliance for 10,000 crores in an AHMEDABAD court. For our coverage of Rafale. We will fight this brazen attempt at harassment and intimidation.” The matter has been listed for hearing on October 26. The NDTV has denied all the charges and said it “will argue that the charges of defamation are nothing more than a heavy-handed attempt by Anil Ambani’s group to suppress the facts and prevent the media from doing its job – asking questions about a defence deal and seeking answers that are very much in public interest.”

The leading news channel has also alleged that the top executives of Reliance ignored repeated, multiple and written requests to appear on the show or comment on the issue. In statement NDTV said, “As the Rafale deal has become a larger news story in India, the Reliance group has been on a notice-serving spree; to sue a news company for 10,000 crores in a court in Gujarat on false and frivolous charges, ignoring facts that are widely reported everywhere and not just by NDTV, can only be interpreted as an unsophisticated warning to the media to stop doing its job.”

The Opposition has attacked the ruling BJP over the procurement of jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation under a Rs 58,000-crore deal. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the Modi government over the Rafale deal alleging that it renegotiated the contract to benefit crony capitalists and reduced India’s prestige globally.