The defamation case against senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh over an alleged defamatory statement and article against NSA Ajit Doval's son Vivek Doval has been closed by the Delhi court. The Congress leader sought an apology from Doval, which was accepted. But the criminal defamation case against The Caravan magazine and journalist Koushal Shroff will continue.
Apologizing for the outburst, Ramesh said appearing before Judge Sachin Gupta that the allegations against Doval were made in the heat of the moment.
"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.
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."
Vivek Doval v Jairam Ramesh
Doval filed the defamation case against Ramesh, The Caravan magazine and journalist Kaushal Shroff after the publication of article titled The D Companies. The criminal defamation complaint was January 2019 and Ramesh was granted bail in May same year.
The article alleged Doval of running several companies, money laundering during the demonetization.
