The Gujarat High Court has adjourned journalist Ravi Nair's petition seeking release from judicial custody in a criminal defamation case filed by Adani Enterprises Limited. The court granted Adani Enterprises more time to respond to the petition, citing 'certain facts that may go against Nair'.
On Monday, the Gujarat High Court adjourned journalist Ravi Nair’s petition seeking release from judicial custody in a criminal defamation case filed by Adani Enterprises Limited. The court granted Adani Enterprises more time to respond to Nair’s petition, as reported by Bar and Bench. This development comes after a Gandhinagar court ordered Nair's arrest on September 17 for failing to appear in person for a hearing in the defamation case, as reported by PTI.
The case pertains to a series of tweets posted by Nair from October 2020 to July 2021 about the Adani Group, including allegations by US short seller Hindenburg Research and a strike against the proposed privatisation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. On February 10, a magistrate court in Gandhinagar convicted Nair and sentenced him to imprisonment for one year. However, Nair challenged his conviction in an appellate court in Gandhinagar, which granted him bail on March 9. The court had directed him to remain present during the hearing of his appeal. On Monday, the advocate for Adani Enterprises sought more time to put on record ‘certain facts that may go against Nair’, as reported by Bar and Bench.
Opposing this, the journalist’s lawyer asked why Nair should ‘spend even one day in jail’. However, the court said that ‘when the complainant is represented on issuance of notice, a fair opportunity is required to be given’.
Source:
Scroll.in
