Fake news peddler Suresh Chavhanke was fined Rs. 50 lakh as the Kozhikode sub-court II found Sudarshan TV Channel guilty of spreading fake news against Malabar Gold, a diamond company run by M.P. Ahammed.
Kochi: Fake news peddler Suresh Chavhanke was fined Rs. 50 lakh as the Kozhikode sub-court II found Sudarshan TV Channel guilty of spreading fake news against Malabar Gold, a diamond company run by M.P. Ahammed.
Malabar Gold had filed a defamation case against Sudarshan TV and its founder-editor Suresh Chavhanke for airing morphed visuals and fake news back in 2016.
According to Art of Jewellery, the video showing Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations organized by a Dubai-based financial services company was morphed by the channel to portray that the event was organized by Malabar Gold at a function held in Chennai.
Alleging that the channel aired the fake news with ulterior motives at the behest of its business rivals to defame Malabar Gold’s reputation and show the patriotism of its promoters in poor light, Malabar Gold and its Director M.P. Ahammed had filed the case against the Channel.
Judge G Rajesh found Sudarshan TV and its editor Suresh Chavhanke guilty in the defamation suit and ordered him to pay Rs. 50 lakh as compensation and court-related expenses to the petitioners. Times of India had reported this story on March 10.
MP Ahammed said the judgement is the victory of truth and justice.
Malabar Group was founded in 1993. The headquarters of Malabar Group is located in Kozhikode and it has branches all over India and in a number of countries. A Dubai court had earlier indicted an employee of the Dubai-based financial service company in a similar case filed by Malabar Gold in a court in the UAE.
Recently, RSS backed Chavhanke was inciting communal hatred right after the Bulandshahr violence in which a cop was murdered and blamed a peaceful Muslim gathering for it. Sabrang India had reported how Chavhanke attacked Muslims with a series of hateful tweets.
On the other hand, Sudarshan TV was launched on January 26, 2007, and is based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Suresh Chavhanke, the Chairman, Managing Director and Editor in Chief, is closely associated with Narendra Modi and the Sangh Parivar.
The channel is known for its provocative, anti-Muslim and communal reporting. In April 2017, Suresh Chavhanke was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police for inciting communal violence and hatred. Chavhanke was arrested after a few prominent members of different communities filed a complaint with the police against the channel.