Bombay High Court seeks reply on Jamat suit

The Bombay high court has recently directed the state police and both state and the Union government to file a reply on the defamation suit filed by Jamat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) against them seeking Rs 10 crore as damages for a leaked internal circular to the media which according to the petitioner has damaged its reputation.

A division bench of Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari and Justice G.S. Patel has directed all the respondents, including former Mumbai additional commissioner of police Naval Bajaj and DCP Sanjay Shindre to file a reply to the suit.

The JIH in 2013 had filed a Rs 10-crore defamation suit after the media reported that a police’s internal circular has asked its officers to keep a special watch on JIH’s sister organisation, the Girls Islamic Organisation (GIO) claiming that it was radicalising Muslim youths. Promptly, the organisation protested and the police had clarified that it found nothing adverse against it and that the circular was meant for internal circulation.

Soon, JIH also sought clarification from the police department but their notice was ignored and hence the organisation sued it. According to JIH, the organisation has been working since 1941 and its work is not such that it would create a rift in society. Contention of the petition is that the circular has done immense damage to JIH’s reputation and people were unwilling to allow their daughters to join GIO after the media reports.

The suit is pending since 2013 and came up for hearing recently and the court asked the respondents to file an affidavit in reply and serve the copy in advance to the petitioner’s advocate and posted the matter for further hearing on February 24.

JIH is an organisation with a strong cadre base and its state unit presently operates from a 700-sq ft three-room office in Madanpura near Byculla. The GIO operates from this office too.