MV Govindan, the State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has filed a defamation suit against Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case. Govindan arrived in person at the First Class Judicial Magistrate Court at Taliparamba on Monday to file the case. This legal step comes after the Kerala High Court stayed the First Information Report (FIR) in the petition filed by the party’s Taliparamba area secretary, K Santosh, against Swapna.
The suit has been filed against Swapna for her alleged defamatory remarks made against Govindan through a Facebook live session. Swapna had claimed that a middleman acting on behalf of Govindan had offered her a total settlement amount of Rs 30 crore for handing over information on the Chief Minister, his family members, and the Chief Minister’s additional private secretary.
In the notice, Govindan stated that Swapna’s remarks were false and baseless as he did not know Vijesh Pillai, the middleman referred to by Swapna, his true identity, or whereabouts. Govindan had earlier sent legal notices to Swapna and Vijesh Pillai, demanding the withdrawal of Swapna’s remark and seeking damages of Rs 1 crore.
According to Govindan’s notice, Swapna’s remarks, which were widely published in leading English and Malayalam newspapers and telecasted in Malayalam news channels, have discredited him. Even though Vijesh Pillai denied the charges in the notice, Swapna did not respond. Therefore, Govindan has filed a criminal case and a suit for damages for defamation in the court.
The Kerala High Court had earlier stayed for six months the FIR registered by the Taliparamba police on the petition filed by K Santosh against Swapna and Vijesh Pillai.
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