New Delhi: The fight between Zee TV and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has taken a new turn with the TV company filing a criminal defamation case against her for calling Zee News “chor” and accusing it of “paid news”.
Advocate Vijay Aggarwal on Friday showed the video of her defamatory remarks before additional chief metropolitan magistrate Samar Vishal, in which she calls the TV channel editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary as “stupid”. The judge fixed the matter for consideration on August 1.
Moitra too has filed a criminal defamation complaint against Chaudhary for alleging that her June 25 speech in the Lok Sabha on “seven signs of fascism” was plagiarised.
Metropolitan magistrate Preeti Parewa took cognizance of her complaint on Monday. The Trinamool MP has also given a notice of breach of privilege in the Lok Sabha.
The Zee petition challenges statement of Moitra before the media on July 3 in which she said: “i. Aap ka jo paid news hai wo kya keh rahe hai I am not bothered about them.. (What your paid news is saying, I am not bothered about it)
ii. Aap logon ka jo channel hai wo chor hai, uska owner chor hai, nai nai aap log nai kar sakte kar sakte, mene press release diya hai, aap log inte uneducated aur budwak hai, hum press release abhi de rahe hai.. (Your channel is a thief. its owner is a thief.. you all are so uneducated and stupid.).”
The complaint claims Moitra’s “intentional hate campaign” has tarnished the image of Zee TV, which has built an impeccable reputation as a premier media house and earned reputation in public through sheer hard work.
