22 March 2024 2:33 PM GMT
The Supreme Court on Friday (March 22) set aside the Delhi High Court's order directing news platform “The Bloomberg” to take down its allegedly defamatory article on Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited.
The bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra observed that the orders of the trial courts in granting ex parte ad interim injunction have not sufficiently applied the 3 fold test of granting temporary injunction. The court stressed the need for the application of judicial mind not just by reading the principles of law but also by ensuring that they fit in line with the practicalities and facts of the case in question.
The single judge bench of Delhi High Court on March 14 upheld the trial court order and granted three days time to "The Bloomberg" to comply with the directions of the Additional District Judge.The plea was filed against an order passed by Additional District Judge Harjyot Singh Bhalla of Saket Courts on March 01.
Zee Entertainment has initiated a legal case for defamation against the online news division of Bloomberg Television Production Services India Private Limited. This includes the authors and researchers involved in the contentious report.
On February 21, Bloomberg published a piece under the title “India Regulator Discovers $ 241 Million Accounting Discrepancy at Zee”.
The CJI noted that the reasoning of the Trial Court given in Paragraph 9 of its order which has been subsequently relied upon by the High Court has not adequately dealt with the factual merits of the present case. Paragraph 9 of the Order reads as follows :
The bench further clarified that the Respondents were at liberty to file fresh injunction applications before the Trial Judge before whom the main proceedings of the dispute are pending. The Court added that it would be necessary for the Trial Judge to follow the order of the bench in passing fresh orders with regard to any injunctions sought. The Petitioners were represented by Senior Advocates Mr Mukul Rohatgi , Niraj Kishen Kaul and Menaka Guruswamy .They were briefed by Kochhar & Co., through its litigation team comprising of Mr. Rohit Kochhar, Chairman and Managing Partner, Mr. Shiv Sapra (Partner), Mr. Samiron Borkataky (Partner), Mr. Rajat Gava (Principal Associate), Mr. Ikshvaaku Marwah (Associate), Ms. Sanskriti Shrimali (Associate) and Mr. Vishal Singh (Associate). The respondents were represented by Advocates Mahesh Agarwal and Vijay Kumar Agarwal
The main proceedings before the Trial Court will resume on March 26.
Case Details : BLOOMBERG TELEVISION PRODUCTION SERVICES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED vs. ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES LIMITED SLP(C) No. 006696 - / 2024