Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, May 8: Congress social media chief Ramya (Divya Spandana) on Wednesday May 8 won a defamation case against media house Asianet and its subsidiary Suvarna News over two reports in 2013 regarding spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The VIII additional city civil and sessions court in Bengaluru on Wednesday found the two accused parties guilty and ordered them to pay Rs 50 lac in damages to Ramya.

In May 2013, in the midst of the spot-fixing scandal that hit IPL, Suvarna News carried images of Ramya in two of its reports. Though the reports did not name Ramya directly, they claimed that some Kannada actresses were involved in the spot-fixing scandal. At the time, Ramya had been the brand ambassador for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team.

Ramya then filed a defamation case against Asianet and Suvarna News for suggesting her involvement in the scandal. The defence counsel's argument that the reports did not make any direct references to Ramya was rejected by the court, which held the accused parties liable for carrying her images without proof.

The court noted that Asianet and Suvarna News did not produce records to show that Ramya was involved in betting and spot-fixing scandals, and also that she had not been named by the police investigating the scandals. The court concluded that the accused parties had acted in "complete violation of journalistic ethics and deliberately to destroy the popularity of the plaintiff (Ramya)."

The court also granted a permanent injuction to Ramya restraining Suvarna News and Asianet from telecasting any programmes linking her to the spot-fixing scandal.

Live Law reported that judge Patil Nagalinganagouda observed, "On perusal of the records, it is clear that plaintiff has blemishless records and known as good actress in Kannada film industry and she has also worked as member of Parliament."

Reacting to the court's verdict, Ramya tweeted, "Justice has been delivered and I’m relieved and grateful."