Zee News issues Rs 1000 crore defamation notice to Navjot Singh Sidhu

Zee News has issued a Rs 1000 crore defamation notice to Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for his defamatory and false allegations against Zee Media. In the legal notice, he has been asked to apologise within 24 hours of receiving it.

Zee News editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary wrote on Twitter: “.@ZeeNews issues ₹1000 crore defamation notice to Navjot Sidhu for his defamatory and false allegations against Zee Media. If he doesn’t apologise, we shall use all legal recourses to take this case to its logical conclusion.”

.@ZeeNews issues ₹1000 crore defamation notice to Navjot Sidhu for his defamatory and false allegations against Zee Media. If he doesn’t apologise we shall use all legal recourses to take this case to its logical conclusion. pic.twitter.com/MUSqjNJuYJ

— Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary) December 15, 2018

The notice asks Sidhu to fulfil the following requisitions within 24 hours of receiving the notice:

a) tender an unconditional public apology undertaking not to repeat such a defamatory act against our Client

b) restrain yourself, from making and spreading, directly or indirectly, any further defamatory statement against our Client. 

c) restrain yourself from issuing threats to our clients and spreading or promoting directly or indirectly, any enmity, hatred, ill-will against our Client.

Zee News had brought to light a video that shows ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised at an election rally addressed by senior party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu. However, party leaders remained defiant and instead accused Zee News of playing a ‘fake video’.

Earlier, Zee News editor-in-chief had told DNA: “I outright deny the allegation that the video is fake. It is 100 per cent authentic. To prove this, we have at least seven other feeds that were being recorded live and every feed has the same slogan at the same time. It has become fashionable now that when a leader of Congress is caught red-handed, the party comes to his defence by terming the video to be a fake. This is nothing but yet another Congress tactic to get out of the situation. Zee News completely stands by its video.”

On Sidhu’s unparliamentary comment in which Sidhu had said “nani yaad dila denge”, the editor-in-chief had replied: “I strongly object to the language used by Navjot Singh Sidhu. The Congress always claims that the party believes in freedom of expression and in democratic values. They are the oldest party of the country, but when one of its prominent leaders uses such foul language, it is clearly an attempt to muzzle the voice of the media for not toeing their party line. It shows that the Congress and its leaders’ arrogance is at its zenith.”