Zee Media files criminal complaint against publishers and editors of The Wire

Zee Media Corporation Ltd. has filed a criminal complaint against the publishers and editors of online news portal The Wire for allegedly defaming it by attributing wrongdoing on its part in relation to black money and demonetisation deposits.

The complaint, filed before Metropolitan Magistrate Sumeet Anand, alleged that two articles published by the online news portal "caused serious harm to the reputation of the complainant by imputing behaviour incompatible with proper conduct and suggestions of involvement in improper activity".

The court has put up the matter for consideration on March 28.

The complaint, filed through advocate Vijay Aggarwal, has sought the prosecution of The Wire's publisher, Foundation of Independent Journalism, directors and founding editors, Siddharth Vardarajan and Sidharth Roshanlal Bhatia, its director M K Venu and the authors of the articles, Gulam Shaik Budan and Anuj Srivas.

The complaint has been filed under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the IPC and if held guilty, the accused persons may get a maximum punishment of two-year jail term.

The complaint alleged that the articles "falsely" "linked the complainant company with the allegations of black money and alleged suspect demonetisation deposits and have conveyed to the world at large that the complainant company is being investigated by the SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office)."