Following an apology from the Congress leader Jairam Ramesh to Vivek Doval, a Delhi court has closed the criminal defamation case against the Congress leader. Defamation proceedings against the Caravan Magazine and journalist Kaushal Shroff will continue.
Jairam Ramesh tenders an unconditional apology for falsely accusing Vivek Doval of money laundering, after losing the defamation case before Judge Sachin Gupta, Additional Metropolitan Magistrate, Rouse Avenue on Saturday.
While apologizing, Ramesh said, “I want to clarify that these statements or accusations were made drawing conclusions from an article that was published the previous day in The Caravan magazine. As the case progressed, I realised that perhaps the same independent verification may have been in order.”
He further stated, “However, the General Elections were close and the questions raised in the article seemed appropriate for being highlighted in making certain insinuations against you and your family.”
“Thus, I would like to offer my apologies to you and your family for any hurt the statements may have caused. I would also urge the INC to remove the press conference available on their website,” Congress leader Ramesh said.
Jairam Ramesh has also urged the INC to remove the press conference from its website.
In January 2019, the well known Caravan magazine posted an article titled ‘The D Companies’ targeting Vivek Doval, son of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The article implied wrongdoing on the part of Vivek Doval stating that he had a hedge fund in the Cayman islands, even though his father, Ajit Doval talks about cracking down on tax havens.
Later, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh picked the article in a press conference where he accused Vivek Doval of money laundering through his company.
Taking note of the allegations, Vivek Doval moved Patiala House Court with a criminal defamation case against the author of the article Kushal Shroff, the Editor of Caravan Magazine, and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.
