Amid bitter tussle over pics, Court restrains Roopa from making defamatory remarks against Rohini Sindhuri

Sindhuri has issued a legal notice to IPS officer D Roopa over her remarks and demanded an "unconditional apology in writing" as well as Rs 1 crore in damages "for the loss of reputation and mental agony".

A Bengaluru Court on Thursday restrained all respondents, including IPS officer D Roopa, from making "defamatory statements" against IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri, amid an ugly spat between two senior women officers in Karnataka.

This comes after IPS officer D Roopa accused the IAS officer of corruption. Roopa had claimed that Sindhuri had violated the rules of service conduct by sending her pictures to male IAS officers.

Following the accusations, Sindhuri has issued a legal notice to IPS officer D Roopa over her remarks and demanded an "unconditional apology in writing" as well as Rs 1 crore in damages "for the loss of reputation and mental agony".

"As things stood, while my client was discharging her duties under her current position she has come across a Facebook post dated February 18, 2023, which incidentally your Facebook page bearing the name "D Roopa Moudgil" wherein you have alleged that no IAS Officer would go for a settlement with an MLA or Politician regarding their official work/ service and that for the first time you heard about such an incident and has cast aspersions on our client that she has done so and has alleged/questioned why our client went for a settlement with Sri. Sa Ra Mahesh, an MLA and implying that our client is trying to cover-up something with respect to either her service or corruption," the notice said.

"Presumably not having received the desired media attention to such per se false and defamatory posts, you have indulged in uploading photos of our client and projecting the same to be explicit photos by imputing a meaning that the said photos ought to be seen in "context" with a malafide intention of colouring the photos with meanings that the same are explicit by falsely alleging that they were sent to "three lAS Ofticers". You have made such serious allegation against our client which touches her character and conduct knowing fully well that the same are false and far from truth," it further read.

"From the course of your conduct in making the per-se defamatory comments/statements/allegations, knowing and having reason to believe that the said comments/statements/allegations are false and far from truth, you have committed a serious offence which is made penal under Section 500 of the Indian penal Code," the notice said.

"Under the circumstances stated above, we have been instructed to demand of you which we hereby do, that you should within 24 Hours of the receipt of this notice, tender to our client an unconditional apology in writing for having made the said per se defamatory comments/statements/allegations," it added.

Rohini further warned of criminal proceedings if the IPS officer failed to comply to the demands.

"If you fail to comply with the above demands, our client would be constrained to institute appropriate Criminal proceedings against you by filing an appropriate compliant before the jurisdictional Magistrate for an offence which is made penal under section 500 of Indian Penal Code," the notice said.