Businessman wins Defamation Suit against Kannada daily

The Karnataka High Court has ordered daily Kannada Prabha to pay Rs. 1,79,538 to a transporter as compensation for running a story that defamed him. Kannada Prabha is a daily from New Indian Express  group. The daily has since paid up the amount through a cheque to Syed Naveed Ahmed of Bangalore in compliance of the Court order. The daily had in a story appearing  in its issue dated October 1, 2002, dragged the name of Mr Syed Naveed Ahmed and his family firm NAS Transport  and Travels and linked it a terror network responsible for transporting arms and ammunition. The story was filed by reporter Madhusudan. The petitioner had prayed before the civil court that his name was being dragged for an offence he had not committed. Even the then City Police Commissioner Mr. H. T. Sangliana had advised the media not to speculate and come to conclusion in a press conference on Thursday, October 3, 2002. Based on the false information in the Kannada Prabha report, the houses of close associates and relatives of Syed Naveed had been searched. He had alleged that the newspaper had indulged in a campaign to defame him and his business establishment. The case ran for nearly 10 years with nearly 60 hearings. Mr. Naveed was represented by his counsel Dr. Srinivas. The case was decided
ex-parte. Kannada Prabha issued the cheque on October 8, 2012. Naveed says that the trauma that he faced for the last 10 years cannot just be explained in words. He says that during the years he had spent nearly Rs. 5 lakh and hailed the verdict as ‘victory for truth’. Talking to Islamic Voice, he said the meager amount he received was not adequate compensation for the harassment he underwent.