In their ?1 crore defamation suit filed against Sequoia Capital and various media outlets and journalists, founder Sandeep have claimed that the publication of false news items resulted in the exit of three partners and severThe plaint filed before a Bengaluru court stated, The effect of the peruse defamatory content published by the Defendants can be seen from the fact that three partners of the Plaintiff No 2 have quit/resigned the firm within hours from the publications being surfaced. This further demonstrates that even the partners/employees of the Plaintiff No 2 have lost faith because of the false, incorrect narrativeal lawyers of the firmThe plaint filed before a Bengaluru court stated, The effect of the peruse defamatory content published by the Defendants can be seen from the fact that three partners of the Plaintiff No 2 have quit/resigned the firm within hours from the publications being surfaced. This further demonstrates that even the partners/employees of the Plaintiff No 2 have lost faith because of the false, incorrect narrativeStating that the publication of the articles were "violative of all norms and canons of responsible journalism," the plaint stated that the media had an obligation to approach the person concerned before publishing a story so as to ensure there is no false reporting. Kapoor claimed that he had asked Economic Times journalist Digbijay Mishra to hold off publication of his article as he was tied up with a personal commitment, and had even agreed to a personal meeting with the reporter to clear the air. However, Mishra refused to hold the article and went ahead with its publication.
Claiming that the news articles were maliciously motivated, laced with canards and entailed deliberate misrepresentation of facts, Kapoor stated in the plaint that he has been ridiculed and jeered in social circles as a result, and that the good opinion that people have of him has been diminished.
Owing to the fiasco, Algo Legal's standing in the market has also been directly impacted, the plaintiffs have stated.
Justifying the need for an order granting relief, the plaint stated,
"The continuous adverse publicity of the Plaintiffs, who are seen from the eyes of public confidence and faith is destructive of their reputation. It will also result in creating an atmosphere in the form of public opinion wherein the Plaintiffs may not be able to put forward their defence properly and the likelihood of getting a fair trial would be seriously impaired."
It further stated that as opposed to apologising and retracting the allegedly false allegations made in the articles, the media outlets are continuing to publish false and malicious allegations.
Stating that an offence under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code has been made out, Algo Legal and Kapoor have sought damages to the tune of ₹1 crore.
They have also prayed for an order to the media outlets to permanently delete the publications in question and to refrain from any further publication containing the same/similar allegations. The plaintiffs have also sought an unconditional apology from the defendants.
Further, they have reserved the right to implead/array any persons, social media platforms, media channels and newspapers who make such allegations in the future
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