Calcutta High Court Ends 22-Year CESC Defamation Suit With Token Damages

Overview

• CESC’s defamation suit was closed after the show’s producer 3 Cheers Entertainments, its director, and the anchor gave unconditional apologies, with the court ordering ₹1,000 from each and ₹5,000 in costs.
• Justice Krishna Rao found the 2004 Khoj Khabar broadcasts defamatory for branding CESC with terms like “mafiagiri” and “Tughlaqui company” and for cartoons that set employees against an Osama bin Laden backdrop.
• CESC had sued in 2004 for ₹25 crore after its clarifications and a legal notice seeking withdrawal were ignored and the programme repeated the claims.
• The defendants led no evidence at trial but later filed affidavits admitting misrepresentation and said the show had been off air for about 15 years with the content no longer retrievable.
• The court cited the long pendency and changed circumstances to justify symbolic damages while formally recording that the telecasts used abusive language and distorted facts.