Congress' Jairam Ramesh tenders apology to NSA Ajit Doval's son Vivek in defamation case

In what comes as an embarrassment for Congress, its senior leader Jairam Ramesh has given an apology to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's son Vivek Doval in a defamation case. Vivek Doval had filed a defamation case against former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh for his statement on an article that appeared in The Caravan magazine. The article alleged that Doval’s son runs a web of companies to round trip black money, and had established it at the time of demonetisation.

On January 21, 2019, Vivek Doval had filed a criminal defamation case against Ramesh and the two journalists, contending that they had caused "irreparable damage" to his reputation "through calculated insinuations and innuendos." He had said that Ramesh had run a “malicious campaign" against the Doval family. Later, the Rouse Avenue court had granted bail to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on a personal bond and surety of ₹20,000 each. Now, Jairam Ramesh has apologised and said that he made several allegations against Doval in heat of the moment ahead of the general elections. 

Vivek Doval on Saturday accepted an apology from Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in connection with a criminal defamation case and expressed his happiness. Speaking to Republic TV, he said, "We are confident that our moral victory today will send a signal that nobody however high and mighty can stand against the power of truth and righteousness. I once again as a proud Indian proclaim Satyameva Jayate. I am extremely happy that we have got a full victory in court."

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Jairam Ramesh's apology letter

"I want to clarify that these statements or accusations were made drawing conclusions from an article that was published the previous day in The Caravan magazine. As the case progressed, I realised that perhaps the same independent verification may have been in order.

However, the General Elections were close and the questions raised in the article seemed appropriate for being highlighted in making certain insinuations against you and your family.

Thus, I would like to offer my apologies to you and your family for any hurt the statements may have caused. I would also urge the INC to remove the press conference available on their website."

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What was the case?

On January 16, 2019, the Caravan published an article titled - The D companies - in which it was alleged that NSA Ajit Doval's son Vivek Doval runs a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands and that it was registered 13 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, in 2016. The report said that while NSA advocates a strict crackdown on tax havens, his son allegedly runs an offshore hedge fund. Jairam Ramesh had then issued a press conference on January 17 reiterating the allegations made in the article which were termed as "baseless and unfounded facts" by Doval in his defamation plea.

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