Bangalore, Jan 10 (IANS) A local court here has restrained a Delhi-based weekly law journal from defaming a member of the customs, excise and service tax appellate tribunal in a case of alleged bribery.
According to an interim injunction passed by the eighth additional city civil & sessions court here Wednesday, Excise Law Times editor R.K. Jain or anyone on his behalf should not publish any defamatory statement against tribunal member P.G. Chacko.
The court also issued summons to Jain for a response by March 13.
Chacko recently filed a civil suit against Jain seeking an apology, a stay from further defamation and Re.1 as damages after the latter refused to apologise for naming him in the law journal while re-producing a news item on the alleged bribing of officials, including members of the tribunal by a tiles company.
The journal carried the news item with Jain’s comments on Chacko in its weekly issue of June 18, 2012 under ‘TIT-Bits/News & Views’ columns.
The news item appeared in the Mumbai edition of The Times of India June 7, 2012 without names of officials or tribunal members or particulars of the alleged payment.
Chacko was member of the tribunal’s bench in Mumbai, with K. K. Agarwal as the other member.