Industrialist and Wadia Group Chairman Nusli Wadia has withdrawn criminal defamation suits filed against Tata Sons’ Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata and other directors in 2016, including a petition that sought ₹3,000-crore in damages.

“The defamation suit was withdrawn on the ground that they (Tatas) had given a statement that there was no intent to defame (Wadia), and the court also stating as there was no intent, the matter should be settled and not fight it,” Senior Advocate CA Sundaram, who appeared for Wadia, told BusinessLine .

“Wadia had filed a memo in the court today, stating that in reference to the suggestion of the court and in view of their (Tatas) statement, he is not pressing the case. The court took the statement on the record and said it was disposing of the special appeal,” he added.

The Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde permitted Wadia to withdraw the petition and the suit seeking damages.

Earlier on January 6, while hearing the case, the Bench — also comprising Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant — had asked the parties to resolve their differences as two mature people who should talk and resolve the issue. The apex court was hearing the issue, after the Bombay High Court had quashed defamation proceedings by Wadia against the Tatas last year.

Wadia had moved the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court order.

In his petition, first filed before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mumbai, in 2016, had alleged that the accused of committing the “offence of defamation of the complainant by printing, publishing and circulating... false, frivolous, baseless, incorrect, libellous and defamatory material”.

The petition named many Tata Sons directors as accused including industrialist Ajay Piramal, Amit Ranbir Chandra, Ishaat Hussain, Nitin Nohria, Ranendra Sen, Ralf Speth, N Chandrasekaran and FN Subedar.

 

 

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