R.K. Jhunjhunwala, printer and publisher, and K. Vaidyanathan, Editor of Dinamani on Monday appeared before the Principal Sessions Court in connection with a defamation case filed by Union government on behalf of Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.
The defamation complaint was filed in September last against them for publishing an allegedly defamatory article.
The complaint stated that Mr. Chidambaram was aggrieved by the item, which insinuated that income tax searches on SRM group of educational institutions had taken place under the Minister’s dictates.
The complaint described the item, published on June 20 under the caption ‘Meesai Munusamy,’ was false and slanderous and it maligned Mr. Chidambaram with regard to his discharge of his public functions. It also projected the Central government and the Income Tax department in poor light.
According to the complaint, on the basis of information gathered regarding evasion of tax by certain persons, including SRM Educational Institutions, searches were conducted at various places on June 18.
