Railway Board Chairman seeks Tehelka's apology

NEW DELHI, MAY 3. The Railway Board Chairman, Mr. Ashok Kumar, today told the Delhi High Court that he was ready to withdraw his suit against the portal, tehelka.com, for allegedly defaming him, provided its management tendered unconditional apology and paid him a token cost of Re. 1.

``The case will not be pursued further if tehelka.com management fulfils these conditions,'' his counsel told Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur.

The hearing on Mr. Ashok Kumar's plaint was adjourned to July 17 following the counsel for Tehelka seeking further time to file reply. The judge suggested that the news portal could consider the Railway Board Chairman's offer.

The court had ordered tehelka.com to remove from its website a news item in which certain allegations were made against Mr. Ashok Kumar. It directed the portal not to publish or circulate the news item in any manner, while issuing notices to its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tarun Tejpal, and correspondent, Mr. Kumar Badal, seeking their replies.

In his suit, Mr. Ashok Kumar alleged that though he had never left India in 2000, the news item claimed that an FIR had been registered against him in Germany in June last year. He accused the portal of levelling baseless allegations against him about his appointment.

The Railway Board Chairman stated that it was clear from his passport that he had not gone out of India between November 1999 and June 2001 and and the allegations were false and motivated, and, therefore amounted to defamation.

- PTI

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