File reply within 3 weeks in House of Abhinandan Lodha defamation suit, HC tells activist

Panaji: The Bombay high court has granted activist Swapnesh Sherlekar three weeks to file a reply in the defamation suit filed by House of Abhinandan Lodha Pvt Ltd against him.

The HC has asked Sherlekar to justify his statements, which the company said are defamatory. The court has restrained Sherlekar from disseminating statements that are part of documents given to the court, until the next hearing.

In its defamation suit, the company stated that such loose and defamatory statements are causing grave harm to its reputation and that such statements then get widely reported and disseminated to the public at large. The company sought interim relief to restrain Sherlekar from making such statements.

Sherlekar's advocate submitted that there is no urgency in the matter since these statements were made in 2024 and also form part of a public interest litigation, which is pending before the Goa bench of this court.

He added that he is only justifying making these statements, since they are based on cogent material that supports them.