Court restrains Rath from making derogatory remarks

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 11

Three days after being placed under suspension by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the alleged instances of “gross misconduct and misbehaviour”, a court in Jammu today directed IPS officer Basant Rath not to publish any post or material by any means of communication which was “defamatory or derogatory” against the six persons who claimed to be “acquainted with the current Director-General of Police Dilbag Singh”.

The order was passed by the 2nd Additional Munsiff Jammu Jeewan Kumar Sharma on a suit filed by six businessmen of Jammu, Parveen Kumar Mittal, Virender Dubey, Saurabh Dang, Rahul Bansal, Davinder Verma and Amit Kohli.

The plaintiffs have stated that they are “acquainted with the current DGP, Dilbagh Singh, and have family relations with him.

“It appears that (Rath) has some personal grouse against Dilbagh Singh and in this regard, he is maligning the image of not only the Director-General of Police, but also the plaintiffs,” they said.

After hearing their counsel, the court issued a notice to Rath for filing a written statement in the main suit as well as objections in the application for the grant of temporary injunction.

The court also directed Rath not to publish any post or material by any means of communication which was defamatory or derogatory against the plaintiffs. The order is, however, subject to objections from the other side.

The case has been listed again on July 25.

The case

• On Wednesday, Basant Rath was suspended by the Ministry of Home Affairs for alleged instances of “gross misconduct and misbehaviour”.
• On June 25, Rath had filed a written complaint against DGP, J&K, Dilbag Singh, fearing “the top cop poses a threat to his safety and reputation”.
• For the past couple of months, Rath has been making veiled attacks on the DGP through social media.