Minister files defamation suit against co-op society personnel

Chennai, Feb 28 (UNI) Puducherry Minister for Law, Health and Family Welfare E Valsaraj today filed a defamation suit in Madras High Court, seeking Rs 20 lakh as damages from the office bearer of a cooperative society for levelling false corrution charges against him.

Mr Valsaraj submitted that V Sudhakaran, office bearer of the Mahe Cooperative Centre for IT, had made concocted and baseless allegations that he (Mr Valsaraj), as the President of the society, had committed criminal appropriation and corruption in the purchase of lands at Pallur village in Mahe.

Mr Sudhakaran also alleged that the Minister had colluded with other members of the society with a common intention to grab funds in the land purchase deal and committed offence, punishable under Section 403 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Dismissing the charges as baseless, the Minister said the defendant, knowing fully well that he was making false statement, levelled the charges to discredit him in the eye of general public and project him as a corrupt person.

The Minister sought a direction to the defendant to pay a sum of Rs 20 lakh as damages for having defamed him by his defamatory statement.

The suit is likely to come up for hearing before a division bench tomorrow.

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