Delhi High Court refuses to recall order directing Saket Gokhale to pay ₹50 lakh to Lakshmi Puri for defamation

The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected an application moved by Trinamool Congress leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Saket Gokhale for recall of the judgment ordering him to pay ₹50 lakh damages in a defamation case filed by former diplomat Lakshmi Puri..Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav pronounced the decision today."You argued very well but we cannot help you. We have to reject both your applications," the Court told Gokhale's counsel..The Court rejected Gokhale's argument that the notice of the suit had gone to some other address. It noted that his counsel had appeared before the Court and filed a vakaltnama."Once the defendant appeared in the matter, it is not incumbent on the court to serve again. Notice is served or not served does not make a difference then," it added.It also questioned the delay in seeking recall of the decree."On July 2, 2024, [Gokhale] became aware of the judgment and decree passed. Despite such knowledge no action was taken until August 19 to challenge the judgment," it said..Lakshmi Puri is the wife of Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri. In 2021, she sued Gokhale over social media posts alleging that she had purchased certain property in Switzerland disproportionate to her income. In July 2021, the Court passed an interim order directing Gokhale to remove the tweets and refrain from posting any defamatory content against the Puris..In the final judgment delivered in July 2024, the High Court directed Gokhale to pay ₹50 lakh damages to Lakshmi Puri and also publish an apology in The Times of India newspaper and on his X handle.It was against this judgment that Gokhale had moved the present recall application under Order IX Rule 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure.Pertinently, Lakshmi Puri also moved the High Court for execution of the July 2024 decree. The High Court last month attached a part of Gokhale's salary."Issue warrants of attachment as per Section 60(i) CPC with respect to the salary of Judgment Debtor which is stated to be Rs. 1,90,000 per month as per the reply affidavit of the judgment debtor dated 08.04.2025. The attached amount will be deposited with the Registrar General of this Court. The salary shall remain attached until the sum of Rs. 50 lakhs is deposited in this Court. The registry shall keep the deposited amount in an interest-bearing FDR," the Court ordered on April 24.Lakshmi Puri has also filed a contempt of court case against Gokhale for non-compliance of the directions issued in the judgment passed last year..Gokhale was represented by advocates Amarjit Singh Bedi and Harsha Vinoy.Senior Advocate Maninder Singh appeared on behalf of Puri. He was briefed by a team from Karanjawala & Company comprising Meghna Mishra, Senior Partner along with advocates Palak Sharma, Shreyansh Rathi and Rohit Kumar.