Lavasa, a Mumbai-based construction company, has initiated legal action against British newspaper, The Sunday Times , for a report alleging “land-grab” by the company. In a statement, rebutting the newspaper’s claims, Lavasa said the report was “biased and relied entirely on unfounded claims made by Ms. Medha Patkar, a local Indian activist.”
“It made unsubstantiated allegations against Lavasa, claiming that we have been unfair in our land dealings with a local and have failed to compensate him adequately. In fact, this singular allegation has been repeatedly projected by Ms. Patkar as a mass land-grab matter on previous occasions too. The points raised in The Sunday Times article run counter to the facts on the ground; this despite Lavasa’s best efforts to set the record straight by sharing all the relevant details with the concerned publication. We have taken up this matter very seriously and have confronted The Sunday Times newspaper with a Pre Action Protocol Letter (PAPL), English High Court – Civil Procedure Rules C6-003, through our lawyers in London,” the statement said.
