Telangana High Court Judge Laksmi Narayana Alishetty on Thursday, February 8, heard a civil revision petition filed by Hyderabad Member of Parliament and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi.
Owaisi filed the petition ahead of the next hearing of a defamation lawsuit against him, which is set for February 27.
In relation to a defamation action, the Chief Judge of the city civil court rendered a decision on July 6, 2023, which was the subject of the petition.
Notably, on September 29, 2017, Nowhera Shaikh, the managing director of Heera Gold, filed a Rs 100-crore civil defamation case against Owaisi. Shaikh said that Owaisi had published many disparaging statements in a publication.
The petitioner’s attorney argued that there was insufficient evidence in the complaint to provide a legitimate cause of action. It was not made clear anywhere in the filing that the defamation lawsuit was inspired by a particular news story.
The attorney said that the outrageous damages demanded were motivated by malice, especially in light of Owaisi’s political standing. Owaisi’s attorney cited a number of court rulings to support his claim that a damages action shouldn’t be filed while a related criminal case is still pending.
The legal team for Asaduddin Owaisi said that the defamation complaint lacked valid grounds and that the damages requested were excessive, particularly in light of the pending criminal proceedings.
