Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale, on Tuesday, issued an unconditional public apology to former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri for a series of defamatory tweets made in June 2021.
Gokhale, taking to microblogging site X, admitted that the tweets, dated June 13 and 23 that year, contained “wrong and unverified allegations” regarding Puri’s property purchase abroad. He expressed regret and extended an unconditional apology.
The TMC leader's apology follows a Delhi High Court order asking Gokhale to explain why he should not face civil imprisonment for non-compliance with a prior court decree.
The decree, issued on July 1, 2024, had directed Gokhale to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages and issue a public apology in a newspaper and on social media.
During a hearing on an execution petition filed by Lakshmi Puri, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora underlined Gokhale’s continued failure to comply with the court’s directives despite having been granted additional time.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, representing Puri, informed the court that a contempt bench had earlier, on May 9, given Gokhale two weeks to comply, a directive that had neither been challenged nor followed.
Notably, on April 24, the court had already ordered the attachment of Gokhale’s Rs 1.9 lakh monthly salary to recover the decretal amount.
The court has now issued a show-cause notice to Gokhale, asking him to respond within a week as to why he should not be sent to civil prison for contempt of court.
Puri is being represented by Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, briefed by Karanjawala & Co.
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