Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament Saket Gokhale on Tuesday (June 10, 2025) issued an unconditional public apology to former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri over a series of defamatory tweets he had posted in 2021 regarding her purchase of property abroad.
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“I unconditionally apologise for having put-out a series of tweets against Amb. Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri on 13th and 23rd June 2021, which tweets contained wrong and unverified allegations in relation to the purchase of property by Amb. Puri abroad, which I sincerely regret,” read the statement, which Mr. Gokhale published in a national newspaper and shared on his official X account.
The apology comes in compliance with the Delhi High Court’s order, which had directed Mr Gokhale to publicly apologise and pay ₹50 lakh in damages to Ms. Puri for the defamatory statements. The court had earlier restrained him from making further comments against the former Indian diplomat, who is also the wife of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
The apology was finally published days after the Court warned Mr Gokhale of civil detention for willful non-compliance of its earlier orders. The court had on May 28 observed that Mr Gokhale had failed to publish an apology within the timelines set out in its July 1, 2024 judgment—and even ignored the extended deadline granted in contempt proceedings on May 9, 2025.
“This Court finds that the nonchalant stand of the judgment debtor (Mr Gokhale) in not complying with the direction of publishing an apology… is deliberate, disrespectful and undermines the legal process,” the court had then remarked.
Ms. Puri had filed the defamation suit before the court in response to tweets made by Mr Gokhale in June 2021 making reckless and false allegations about her financial affairs in the context of an apartment that she owned in Geneva.
Mr. Gokhale had in the series of post questioned how Ms. Puri could have bought a house for 1.6 million Swiss Franc in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2006 with her then income. Ms. Puri’s said these posts tarnished her goodwill and reputation.
In the July 1, 2024, aside from directing publication of an apology and payment of ₹50 lakh as damages, the court restrained Mr. Gokhale from publishing any more content on any social media or electronic platform concerning his imputation against Ms Puri. The court noted these allegations were made without verification and had tarnished her reputation.
While Mr. Gokhale’s appealed against the July 1, 2024, judgment, in April this year, the court had also ordered attachment of portion of his salary for non-compliance, observing that he neither paid the penalty nor offered a valid explanation.
Published – June 10, 2025 10:14 am IST
