CESTAT Member Seeks One Rupee Damage from ELT Editor
BANGALORE CESTAT Member (Judicial), PG Chacko recently filed a Civil Suit in the City Civil Court, Bangalore against a report carried in Excise Law Times (ELT) on 18.06.2012, wherein it was mentioned, "In the seized records, two entries are learnt to have been found regarding alleged payment of bribes of Rs.30 lakhs and Rs.11 lakhs respectively for seeking favourable orders on stay applications from CESTAT, Mumbai. It is learnt that as per DRI report in both the cases the orders were passed by the CESTAT Bench of Shri P.G. Chacko and Shri K.K. Agarwal.…….."
The CESTAT Member took the matter to the Court pleading for an injunction commanding the ELT Editor to apologise, an injunction to restrain the editor from publishing any defamatory statement and a damage of Re. 1/-.
On 9.1.2013, the City Civil Judge issued a temporary injunction restraining the ELT editor from publishing any defamatory statement or material calculated to defame the plaintiff - CESTAT Member.