Deposit Rs 20 cr,HC tells Times Now in Sawant suit

While asking the company to deposit Rs 20 crore as it admitted its plea on Wednesday,the high court also told it to furnish bank guarantees for the remaining amount of Rs 80 crore.

Times Global has maintained that it had already apologised to Justice Sawant in its news scroll for five days in 2008 and was therefore not liable to pay damages.

Justice Sawant had sued the channel for displaying his photo wrongly for about 15 seconds during a September 10,2008,news report on a provident fund scam allegedly involving Calcutta High Court judge Justice P K Samanta. The report,that mistakenly showed Sawant’s photo in place of Samanta,also said several judges of the higher judiciary were involved in the scam.

According to Justice Sawant’s petition,despite him serving the channel a noice,it issued a retraction only about eight to 10 days later — on its scroll — and expressed regret. Passing a decree in favour of Justice Sawant,the Pune court had slapped the channel with damages of Rs 100 crore.