Bombay High Court to hear Times Now's suit against News Laundry on February 22

Bombay High Court.

The Bombay High Court on Monday posted for February 22 hearing on a defamation suit filed by television news channel Times Now against News Laundry website, accusing the portal of running programmes that allegedly defame the channel.

The news channel, in the suit filed in December 2020 through its parent firm, Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd (BCCL), against News Laundry Media Pvt Ltd, which runs the website, has sought damages of Rs 100 crore for defamation, mental distress and harassment.

It has also sought an interim order from the court directing News Laundry to delete two programmes aired in October and November 2020 that allegedly make grave and unfounded aspersions against the plaintiff (Times Now), "causing enormous damage to its reputation".

BCCL lawyer Vijay Hiremath on Monday claimed before a single bench of Justice A K Menon that the statements made by the host in the programmes "are false, baseless and defamatory".

News Laundry, in its affidavit submitted in response to the application, said it never meant to defame or cause disrepute to any media house but was only trying to comment upon how media outlets are more focused on TRPs instead of reporting facts.

Justice Menon posted the matter for hearing on February 22.

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