‘Wrong, Unverified’: TMC MP Saket Gokhale Issues Apology to Former Diplomat Lakshmi Puri in Defamation Row

All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale on Tuesday, 10 June, tendered an apology to former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri for his social media tweets, in connection with her ownership of an apartment in Geneva, Switzerland.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Gokhale added that the tweets contained 'wrong' and 'unverified' allegations regarding Ambassador Puri’s purchase of property abroad.

"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 - Saket Gokhale," the post stated.

In the last hearing, Gokhale had challenged the order of the Single Judge, which had directed him to furnish a public apology along with compensation to Lakshmi Puri.

Appearing for Gokhale, Senior Advocate Amit Sibal had submitted that his client was willing to tender an apology. However, he requested that Gokhale be allowed to include a clarification that the appeals were pending before the High Court.

The bench observed that any apology must be unconditional, without reference to the pendency of appeals. The court also noted that a conditional apology did not amount to an apology.

However, the bench had refrained from passing any order at this stage and renotified the matter for further hearing on July 8, 2025.

Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Puri, opposed the submissions contending that Gokhale was required to offer an unconditional apology, in line with the directions of the Single Judge. He further referred to orders passed in execution and contempt proceedings before the Single Judge, which, he submitted, had not yet been complied with by Gokhale.

Background:

The matter arose from a defamation suit filed by Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri, a former diplomat and senior official of the United Nations, against Saket Gokhale. The suit pertained to a series of tweets made by Gokhale in which he questioned how Puri could have purchased a house worth 1.6 million Swiss Francs in Geneva in 2006.

In her plaint, Puri alleged that the statements were “maliciously motivated, laced with canards, and entailed deliberate twisting of facts in order to cause reputational damage and irrevocable harm”.

She further contended that Gokhale had manipulated financial data by selectively quoting from a 2018 affidavit filed by her husband, then a public servant, during his Rajya Sabha nomination process. According to her, this was done in a mala fide and defamatory manner.

On July 8, 2021, Justice C. Harishankar had directed Gokhale to take down the tweets in question.

Despite indicating a willingness to amicably settle the matter during later proceedings, Gokhale’s proposal was declined by Puri’s counsel, who maintained that the defamatory statements were baseless and had caused unjustified harm to her reputation.

Case Title: Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri v Saket Gokhale