A magistrate’s court in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar on Tuesday convicted journalist Ravi Nair in a criminal defamation case filed by Adani Enterprises Ltd and sentenced him to one year of simple imprisonment, news agencies reported.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000, according to PTI and ANI.
The complaint was filed by Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group led by industrialist Gautam Adani, alleging that Nair had published and circulated posts on social media platform X containing false and defamatory statements intended to harm the company’s reputation.
The company contended that the posts did not amount to fair comment or legitimate criticism, but were aimed at damaging its credibility among the public and investors.
Holding that the offence of defamation had been proved, the court said the case was triable as a summons matter and did not require a separate hearing on sentence, ANI reported.
The magistrate observed that Nair, as a journalist and public commentator, was expected to be mindful of the reach and impact of statements made on digital platforms, especially when making categorical allegations that could affect reputations.
The court declined to extend the benefit of probation, stating that the accused was a mature individual aware of the consequences of his actions. Granting probation in such cases would dilute the deterrent effect of the law and send the wrong message in cases involving reputational harm, the judge said, according to ANI.
Reacting to the verdict, Nair posted on X: “Hum Dekhenge” (“We will see”), a reference to a poem by Faiz Ahmad Faiz.