New Delhi: A Delhi court has mandated that a lady compensate her ex-husband for defamation with Rs 15 lakh.
In a complaint filed by the ex-husband, Judge Sunil Beniwal of Saket Courts was hearing a claim for damages for defamation and malicious and false litigation, seeking Rs 25 lakh.
The plaintiff—her ex-husband—claimed in his lawsuit that they were married in June 2001 and that, eight years later, the defendant—his wife—left the marital residence with their young daughter and started bringing baseless lawsuits against him and his family members.
A family court granted his plea for divorce in 2021. He stated that his wife had a history of using foul and abusive language to disparage him and his mother in conversations with her acquaintances. She also persisted in emailing his frail and elderly maternal uncle.
He stated that he had to have significant surgery in March 2022 as a result of ongoing harassment.
However, the woman argued that the complaint was limited by limitation since a defamation lawsuit must be brought within a year of the libel’s publication. The suit was based on conversations from 2010 and some emails from 2020.
Following a review of the case file, the court declared that it was clear that the defendant had engaged in actions that qualified as libellous defamation.
“The court finds that the defendant’s acts have caused injury to the plaintiff, which have hampered his professional growth. The defendant is directed to pay damages of Rs 15,00,000 (Rs15 lakh) to the plaintiff on the ground of defamation, namely libel, and the damage caused to the plaintiff being a direct consequence of the defendant’s action,” read the order. The plaintiff is also entitled to simple interest at 9 per cent per annum, from the date of filing of the present suit till the realisation of the decreed amount, it added.
–IANS
