KOZHIKODE —The Kozhikode sub-court II has found the Delhi-based television channel, Sudarshan TV, and its editor Suresh Chavhanke guilty in a defamation suit filed by Malabar Gold and its Director M.P. Ahammed. The sub court II judge G. Rajesh had passed the judgment for payment of Rs50 lakh toward compensation and court-related expenses to the petitioners. The case was related to morphing a compact disk showing Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations organized by a Dubai-based financial services company which the channel alleged was organized by Malabar Gold at a function held in Chennai.

It was on August 20, 2016 that the channel had telecast the morphed visuals and the fake news about Malabar Gold. Malabar Gold and its Director MP Ahammed filed the case alleging that the channel aired the fake news with ulterior motives at the behest of its business rivals to defame Malabar Gold’s impeccable reputation and show the patriotism of its promoters in poor light. A Dubai court had earlier indicted an employee of the Dubai-based financial service company in a similar case filed by Malabar Gold in a court in the UAE.

Malabar Gold was represented by solicitors Adv. PS Sridaran Pillai, Adv. K. Reetha and Adv.Arun Krishna Dhan. Reacting to the judgment, MP Ahammed said the judgment vindicates Malabar Gold’s stand and testimony for truth and justice. — SG