Calcutta High Court Closes Defamation Case Against TV Show Which Called CESC 'Big Thief', Depicted Employees As Osama Bin Laden

The Calcutta High Court has accepted unconditional apologies from the makers and anchor of the investigative TV show Khoj Khabar in a 22-year-old defamation suit filed by CESC Limited, imposing only token damages and costs. The Court, presided over by Justice Krishna Rao, noted that the 2004 broadcasts had used highly inflammatory language—branding CESC as indulging in “mafiagiri”, “gundami”, “zulum bazi”, and calling it a “Tughlaqui company” and “big thief”. The programme had gone further by portraying CESC employees as devils in cartoon form, even placing them against the backdrop of Osama bin Laden and other terrorists, which the Court described as defamatory, abusive and a deliberate misrepresentation.CESC had issued clarifications and a legal notice demanding retraction, but the defendants repeated the telecast and provided no correction, forcing the company to sue for ₹25 crore in damages. Though the defendants initially contested the suit and cross-examined CESC's witness, they led no evidence in support of their version. After trial arguments concluded, all three defendants — the production house, its director, and the anchor — filed detailed affidavits tendering unconditional apologies, admitting that the telecast had projected an incorrect state of affairs and harmed CESC's reputation. They informed the Court that the programme had been off-air for 15 years, the content was no longer retrievable, the company had become defunct, and the individuals involved had withdrawn from journalism.CESC accepted the apology but sought nominal damages. Taking note of the long pendency of the suit, the defendants' changed circumstances, and their unconditional apology, the Court directed payment of ₹1,000 each (total ₹3,000) as damages and ₹5,000 as costs. Justice Rao held that this symbolic financial consequence was appropriate in the facts of the case and disposed of the suit accordingly.Case: CESC Limited Versus 3 Cheers Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. Case No: CS No. 126 of 2004Click here to read order

Calcutta High Court Closes Defamation Case Against TV Show Which Called CESC 'Big Thief', Depicted Employees As Osama Bin Laden

Srinjoy Das

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