New Delhi [India], July 8 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and national spokesperson Saket Gokhale to withdraw his affidavit tendering an apology in a defamation case filed by former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri. The Court stated that the contents of the affidavit, in its present form, were unacceptable and could not be considered on record.

The oral observations were made by a Division Bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Renu Bhatnagar during the hearing of Gokhale's appeal against a Single Judge's ex parte decree. That ruling had required Gokhale to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages to Puri and issue a public apology, both in a national newspaper and on social media. His plea to set aside the decree was dismissed on May 2, 2025.

Appearing on behalf of Saket Gokhale, Senior Advocate Amit Sibal submitted that his client had already complied with part of the order by posting an unconditional apology on his official X (formerly Twitter) account. He further submitted that a formal affidavit had also been submitted but was pending clearance due to procedural defects flagged by the court registry. A copy of the affidavit was handed to the bench for review.

In response, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, representing Puri, strongly objected to the affidavit's contents and drew attention to Gokhale's prior conduct in execution and contempt proceedings. Singh was supported by Advocates Vishal Gehrana and Palak Sharma from Karanjawala & Co.

After evaluating the affidavit, the bench raised concerns about the language used and found it inappropriate for an apology. Consequently, the court instructed Gokhle's Lawyer to formally withdraw the defective affidavit and submit a corrected version. It was further clarified that Gokhale's appeal would only be entertained after the revised affidavit was filed.

The dispute stems from defamatory tweets posted by Gokhale in June 2021, alleging improprieties in Puri's purchase of property abroad. Puri is a retired Indian Foreign Service officer and the wife of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Recently, Gokhale shared a public apology via social media, stating: 'I unconditionally apologise for having put out a series of tweets against Ambassador Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri on 13th and 23rd June 2021, which tweets contained wrong and unverified allegations in relation to the purchase of property by Ambassador Puri abroad, which I sincerely regret.'

The High Court had earlier ordered Gokhale to refrain from making further defamatory remarks and issued a notice requiring him to explain why he should not face civil imprisonment for non-compliance with the previous order. (ANI)