Digital news outlets Newslaundry and Confluence Media have filed a defamation lawsuit in Delhi High Court against Kerala-based news outlet Karma News for labeling them as Khalistani terrorists and suggesting that they are connected to the Popular Front of India (PFI) in an alleged defamation claim.
The plaintiff has contend that they worked along with another news organization,and the Kerala Media Academy in Kochi to organize a media event named Cutting South 2023.
The lawsuit however, claimed that Karma News began a campaign of misinformation and published a number of items criticizing the event while it was still happening.
According to information provided to the Court by Karma News, the plaintiffs planned to partition India with the aid of China, the event was a component of a broader terrorist campaign, substantial sums of money had been transferred to Kochi via hawala transactions, and the event planners were Khalistani terrorists.
When the subject came up for hearing today before a bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri, the attorney for Karma News stated that it was not the only outlet to convey the news and that Janmbhumi [a publication connected to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)] had also published the same information.
She said that until the next date of the hearing in the subject, Karma News will not air any news or program carrying such accusations.
The statement was recorded by the court, and Karma News and YouTube were both given notice. Now, the issue will be discussed in August.
Newslaundry and Confluence Media said in their lawsuit that the term “Cutting South 2023” does not suggest that they want to split anything. Instead, it is derived from the term “Cutting Chai,” which denotes a tea with flavourings added, and is intended to evoke feelings of comfort, familiarity, and nostalgia.
According to the lawsuit, it also derives from the popular expression “cutting edge.
It is the respectful submission that the aforesaid statements and allegations of the Defendant No. 1 which have been made maliciously and lack any truth therein, can have a catastrophic effect on the Plaintiffs.
Such allegations are eroding the goodwill and reputation that the Plaintiffs has earned over a considerable period of time, not only amongst the present and future employees but the public at large, especially its viewers.”
The plaintiffs are asking for a formal apology from Karma News, as well as an injunction against them and damages of Rs. 2 crore.
For the plaintiffs, attorney Bani Diskhit made their argument. The attorneys Uddav Khanna and Krishan Kumar filed the lawsuit.