Param Bir Singh allowed to unconditionally withdraw defamation suit against Arnab Goswami but with a cost

New Delhi [India], December 14 (ANI): A sessions court in Mumbai on Wednesday allowed former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s application for unconditional withdrawal of his defamation suit against ARG Outliers media (Republic TV) and its editor Arnab Goswami.
Param Bir Singh, the former Mumbai police chief, had filed a Civil defamation suit in 2020 against Arnab Goswami and the owners of Republic TV seeking damages of Rs 90 lakh along with interest at 12 per cent per annum and claimed that the channel had shown him in bad light in its reportage.
Additional sessions judge V D Kedar on Wednesday while allowing the withdrawal of the defamation also imposed a nominal cost of Rs 1,500 on Parambir Singh.
“It is not in dispute that due to filing of the suit the defendant had to engage an advocate. I feel cost needs to be imposed for withdrawal of the suit unconditionally”, said the court.
On Wednesday, the defendant’s lawyer said, “We do not have any objection to the withdrawal of the suit provided they should not think that we have settled the matter. Many times they misrepresent that we are settling outside the court. I (Arnab) am a public figure and being gone through mental torture for two years, but now they withdrawing the matter is their choice.”
To this, Param Bir Singh’s lawyer made a statement in the court that “Our application doesn’t say so that we are settling the matter, we don’t know from where they have brought this to court”.
This defamation suit was filed by Param Bir Singh in 2020 and he sought a decree and order for the payment of damages of Rs 90 lakh for his alleged defamation. He also added that damages of Rs 90 lakh be paid along with interest at 12 per cent per annum for allegedly defaming him and for showing him in bad light.
Arnab Goswami in his reply to the suit filed by Singh had earlier said, “The entire case of the Plaintiff is misconceived, and is based on concocted facts and contentions. The Defendants state that the instant Suit has been filed by the Plaintiff in exasperation, the Plaintiff has not approached this Hon’ble Court with clean hands and has filed the instant Suit with malafide intentions to teach the Defendants a lesson, without any basis, and is not entitled to any reliefs whatsoever.”
After the court’s order, Arnab Goswami’s lawyer Pradeep Ghandy told ANI that there was no settlement between the parties.
“It was a categorical no, there was no settlement between the parties. I have in fact put that in writing in the application. Also, insisted upon the court imposing costs on the plaintiff for frivolous litigation and for unnecessarily dragging on the matter for more than a year.” (ANI)