Anil Ambani’s Reliance has sued the news channel NDTV for Rs 10,000 crore in an Ahmedabad court. The defamation suit has been filed for their reportage on Rafale deal in their weekly show Truth vs Hype, which was aired on September 29.

Defamation suite for a show

On the show, it was discussed whether the process of choosing Reliance Defence as the offset partner by Dassault Aviation was transparent. The whole Rafale deal has been one of the biggest controversies surrounding the current government. Former French President Francios Hollande’s comment that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence’s name for the deal and that the French government did not have a say in this. It may be noted that Hollande was serving as the president when the deal was struck.

NDTV’s response

In a detailed response to the defamation suit filed against their organisation, NDTV called it an “unsophisticated warning to the media to stop doing its job”. The channel said that this was a “heavy-handed” attempt by Anil Ambani to suppress the truth.

They also said the show was aired after former French President Hollande’s comment came and also that the news was picked widely by other media houses as well. They also mentioned that they showed all sides including Dassault Aviation denying Hollande’s claim.

NDTV has also claimed that before airing the show the channel tried reaching out to the company, however, even after repeated request to present their side on the issue, they obtained no response from the company. NDTV has rejected the charges of defamation and said that their channel stands for presenting “independent and fair journalism that uncovers the truth”.

Suparna Singh, CEO of NDTV tweeted on October 18, “We will fight this brazen attempt at harassment and intimidation.”

NDTV has been sued by Anil Ambani’s Reliance for 10,000 crores in an AHMEDABAD court. For our coverage of Rafale. We will fight this brazen attempt at harassment and intimidation.

— Suparna Singh (@Suparna_Singh) October 18, 2018

It may be noted that in August, Reliance had sent a similar notice to the Congress-owned National Herald. It was then claimed by the Reliance that the article published about the Rafale deal was “libellous and derogatory”.

Also Read: Anil Ambani Tells Congress To “Behave Responsibly” Over Rafale Deal