Kannur: CPM State Secretary M V Govindan has sent a legal notice to Swapna Suresh for the alleged defamatory remarks made against him through a Facebook live session.
The notice, sent through his lawyer Nicholas Joseph, asked Swapna to provide an unqualified apology for her remarks and pay a compensation of Rs 1 crore as damages.
Swapa had claimed that a middleman acting on behalf on Govindan, Vijesh Pillai aka Vijay Pillai, had offered to pay her a total settlement amount of Rs 30 crore for handing over information on the chief minister, his family members and CM's additional private secretary CM Raveendran.
In the notice, Govindan stated that Swapna's remarks were false and baseless as he did not know Vijay Pillai, his true identity or whereabouts.
“You had held a live telecast through your Facebook account, alleging that one Mr. Vijay Pillai approached you, at the behest of my client, and offered you a sum of Rs 30 crore on condition that you stop and withdraw all the allegations levelled against the Chief Minister of Kerala and his family. Further, you alleged that my client, intimated you through the said Vijay Pillai, that you will face dire consequences and would even be done away with, if you fail to adhere to the said demands,” the notice stated.
The notice observed that Swapna's remarks, which were viewed by the public and were widely published in all leading English and Malayalam newspapers and telecasted in all Malayalam news channels, has discredited Govindan.
“Your malicious remarks aimed at tarnishing the impeccable reputation of my client, indeed amount to an offence under the Indian Penal Code as well as the Information Technology Act,” the notice said.
“In fact, you were duty bound to cross-check the facts prior to casting such unfounded aspirations causing disrepute to my client who has been leading a virtuous public life for the last 50 years.”
“Hence, I hereby give you notice to pay a sum of Rs.1,00,00,000/- (Rupees One Crore) as damages to my client and publish an unqualified apology prominently in two leading Malayalam newspapers and also render an unqualified apology in all the leading Malayalam news channels in Kerala within ten days from the date of receipt of this notice, failing which my client would be constrained to initiate civil and criminal prosecution against you,” the notice concluded.
