Delhi High Court Stays The Sale And Distribution Of Book On Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor

A Delhi court restrains the sale of a book on Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor. The court has passed a stay order restraining the sale and distribution of a book about Yes Bank’s former MD and CEO Rana Kapoor.

Judge Naresh Kumar Laka of Tis Hazari Court was hearing a suit filed by Kapoor, a co-founder of Yes Bank, seeking a mandatory injunction on the publication of the book “Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor”. Kapoor contended that the book in question mentioned various defamatory remarks violating his fundamental rights protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.

His plea added that the media trial should not hamper a fair investigation by the investigating agency and should not prejudice the right of defense of the accused in any manner as it would amount to a travesty of justice.

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In response, the defendant-publisher argued that Article 19 of the Constitution grants a right to publish an article or a book and it contained no objectionable or defamatory content against Kapoor.

After assessing the content of the book, the court, in its judgment, said that plaintiff Kapoor established a prima facie case in his favor against the publisher and author for harming his reputation without completely based on true fact. It said: “The balance of convenience will also lie in favor of the plaintiff because the reputation of the plaintiff once defamed in the eyes of readers, it cannot be reversed back, if the plaintiff finally succeeds in the present case whereas the defendant will have only monetary loss only which is not greater than the reputation of the plaintiff.”

The CBI had registered the case in connection with alleged suspicious loans granted by Yes Bank and the quid pro quo between its co-promoter Rana Kapoor and the Wadhawan brothers.

The investigation agencies have alleged that Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term non-convertible debentures of DHFL between April and June 2018. Allegedly, Rana Kapoor received kick-back over bogus loans extended by YES Bank to DHFL company, which, Kapil Wadhwan and Dheeraj Wadhwan owned. It is also alleged that Kapoor misused those kick-back amounts for purchasing properties in the name of his family members.