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. The court granted more time to Adani Enterprises to respond to Nair’s petition and posted the matter for Wednesday.
The Gujarat High Court on Monday 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 and posted the matter for Wednesday. According to Bar and Bench, Justice MK Thakker made this decision.
Nair was taken into custody on September 17 and sent to jail on orders of a Gandhinagar court, which had issued a non-bailable warrant against him earlier this month for failing to appear in person for a hearing in the defamation case. 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. The magistrate had said that Nair, as a journalist and public commentator, was expected to be conscious of the reach and impact of the statements made on digital platforms, especially when making categorical allegations that could affect reputations. 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’, reported Bar and Bench.
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