The Times Group has filed a Rs 100-crore defamation suit against Newslaundry in the Bombay High Court for allegedly maligning Times Now a...
The Times Group has filed a Rs 100-crore defamation suit against Newslaundry in the Bombay High Court for allegedly maligning Times Now anchors Rahul Shivshankar and Navika Kumar through two videos, Bar and Bench reported on Monday.
The videos in question are Toadies Banega Tu: TV Newsance and Explained: How to Rig TRPs. They were published on the Newslaundry website and also shared on their YouTube channel last year.
In the first video Newslaundry compared the coverage done by The Times of India and Times Now of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. It spoke of the “IndiaForRheaArrest” hashtag being used by the channel.
“The remarks made in the video against the channel of the applicant and against the editors of the applicant as the hosts on the channel, and the promoters of the applicant go beyond the realm of satire, parody or spoof,” the Times Group said in its plea. “Any right thinking members of the society would conclude that the said video defames and tarnishes the image, reputation and goodwill of the company, its channel and editors.”
The second video, about the television rating points scam, showed a picture of the Times Now anchors.
The Times Group said that since the anchors were the face of the channel, Newslaundry’s video implied that the channel was involved in the illegal act of manipulating TRPs. The...
