To,
1. Shri Swapan Ghosh,
Director of Sahara Prime City Limited Sahara India Centre, 2,
Kapoorthala Complex, Aliganj, Lucknow – 226024
(Hereinafter called as Party No.1)
2. Shri Rajendra Singh, Head of H.R.Department,
Sahara Prime City Limited Sahara India Centre, 2, Kapoorthala Complex,
Aliganj, Lucknow – 226024
(Hereinafter called as Party No.2)
3. Yashwant Singh
CEO & Editor, Bhadas4Media (situated at Noida)
(Hereinafter called as Party No.3)
From,
Devendra Kumar Rai, Advocate
Indira Nagar, Lucknow
Sender,
Shri Somesh Pratap Singh
S/O Shri L.S. Tomar
Jankipuram, Lucknow -226021
Legal Notice for Defamation
That, I have been instructed by my client namely Shri Somesh Pratap Singh (hereinafter called as ‘my client’), I hereby serve upon you this Legal Notice for Defamation based on the following legal grounds:
1. That my client, Shri Somesh Pratap Singh, is a citizen of India and was employed by Sahara Prime City Limited (SPCL), holding the senior position of Deputy General Manager under the Legal Head of SPCL and having responsibility to assist the Legal Head of SPCL. My client is a respected member of society, enjoying a strong reputation and considerable esteem among family, friends, colleagues, and within his community and locality. Throughout his professional life of approximately 27 years under the umbrella of Sahara India Parivar, my Client has maintained an unblemished career, earning him significant respect, dignity, and prestige in society.
2. That, at the outset, my client received a Termination Notice bearing Ref. No. 69243, dated February 22, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Impugned Notice’), concerning the termination of his services with Sahara Prime City Limited. The Impugned Notice contains baseless, fabricated, and concocted reasons for termination, supported by frivolous allegations.
3.That, the Impugned Notice contains grave and unfounded allegations against my client. This notice was issued by an authorized signatory on the official letterhead of Sahara Prime City Limited, having its registered and head office at Sahara India Centre, 2, Kapoorthala Complex, Aliganj, Lucknow – 226024 (Uttar Pradesh), with the malicious intent to defame and harass my client.
4.That defamatory remarks of the impugned notice are reproduced herein below: “We regret to inform you about the immediate termination of your services from the company, due to your involvement found in various acts of dishonest commissions and omissions, committed in abuse of your official/managerial position, in utter violation of company’s policy, rules and regulations. By your acts as such, the company has suffered huge loss of its assets and is in further threat of erosion of its assets. The Management has made this decision, as it has lost its complete faith in you.”
5. That, a plain reading of the excerpt from the Impugned Notice, as reproduced in Paragraph 4 of this Legal Notice, unequivocally demonstrates that the statements contained therein are demonstrably false and were made with the sole intent to rationalize the unlawful termination of my Client’s services on spurious and unsubstantiated grounds. Furthermore, these false statements were made with the clear intention to defame my client and to unjustly diminish his professional standing and reputation.
6. That, subsequent to the issuance of the aforementioned Impugned Notice, my client endeavoured to engage in communication with the Board of Directors and/or the Company Secretary of Sahara Prime City Limited, specifically referring to Party No. 1, via an email dated March 3, 2025. The purpose of this communication was to request the immediate retraction of the Impugned Notice and the initiation of an impartial inquiry to ensure the administration of justice. However, neither Party No. 1 nor the addressee of the said email has provided any response till date.
7. That further to the aforementioned email dated March 3, 2025, and in connection therewith, my client sent a reminder email on March 12, 2025, reiterating his objections to the Impugned Notice. Through this subsequent communication, my client drew attention to his previous correspondence of March 3, 2025, and conveyed his final intimation regarding the matter.
8.That, the issuance of the Impugned Notice constitutes an act intended to tarnish the professional and personal reputation of my client on unsubstantiated grounds. Within the Impugned Notice, the allegation of involvement in ‘various acts of dishonest commission and omission’ falsely accuses my client of dishonest conduct in the performance of his duties. For clarity and proper legal interpretation, the term ‘dishonestly’ is defined under Section 2(7) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), as follows:
‘Dishonestly’ means doing anything with the intention of Causing wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another person.
And the term ‘wrongful gain’ and ‘wrongful loss’ is defined u/s 36 and 37 respectively of BNS as-
‘wrongful gain’ means gain by unlawful means of property to which the person gaining is not legally entitled.
‘wrongful loss’ means the loss by unlawful means of property to which the person losing it is legally entitled.
Here my client did not commit any wrongful gain or wrongful loss to the Sahara Prime City Limited or any other person, hence he did not work dishonestly by misusing his position. In this manner, by making the allegation that involvement of my client in various acts of dishonest commission, you have committed an offence of defamation by lowering the credit of my client.
9. That, in the Impugned Notice, you have asserted that ‘the company has suffered a significant loss of its assets and faces a continuing threat of further erosion thereof’ as a consequence of my client’s actions. However, no specific facts, figures, or evidence have been provided to substantiate these claims. The Impugned Notice merely levels serious accusations against my client without any discernible basis, indicating a clear intention to malign his character. Consequently, you have made an imputation intended to harm the reputation of my client.
10. That the aforementioned allegations contained within the Impugned Notice have been disseminated by you to numerous individuals both within and outside the Company. This widespread circulation constitutes publication of defamatory statements and imputations in the public domain, demonstrating your intention to harm the reputation and malign the character of my client.
11.That, the Impugned Notice was furnished to Party No. 3 with the malicious intent to diminish the professional standing of my client. Subsequently, Party No. 3 published the contents of the Impugned Notice in a news article dated February 24, 2025, on the digital platform of ‘Bhadas 4 Media’. This publication occurred without any prior verification of the veracity of the allegations from my client, a fundamental lapse in journalistic responsibility for a media platform. The aforementioned news article, bearing the headline ‘राष्ट्रीय सहारा के सलाहकार सम्पादक एस. वी. सिंह ‘प्रहरी’ और सहारा हाउसिंग में जी एम रहे सोमेश सिंह बर्खास्त।‘, annexed to circulate this Impugned Notice containing false and fabricated allegations knowingly and willingly to harm the reputation and professional career of my client.
12.That, consequently, the statements made within the Impugned Notice, coupled with the misleading news article published on the digital platform ‘Bhadas 4 Media’, have significantly undermined and defamed the esteemed reputation of my client.
13. That the well-established adage, ‘If money is lost, nothing is lost; if health is lost, something is lost; if character is lost, everything is lost,’ underscores the paramount importance of an individual’s character and reputation. While financial losses and health issues are undoubtedly significant, the erosion of one’s character carries profound and potentially irremediable ramifications, affecting all facets of life. Through the defamatory remarks articulated in the aforementioned Impugned Notice and its subsequent publication, you have severely tarnished the character and reputation of my client.
14.That the aforementioned frivolous, fabricated, and misleading allegations, including the unfounded assertion of dishonesty and the baseless imputation of responsibility for the Company’s alleged significant financial losses, constitute grave and defamatory statements that have severely tarnished my client’s long-standing reputation and standing within society, including among his relatives, peers, and friends. As a direct consequence of these defamatory acts, my client has suffered significant mental anguish and emotional distress. Furthermore, he continues to endure persistent mental torture, harassment, and apprehension.
15. That, your aforementioned actions have severely tarnished and irreparably damaged the reputation, respect, and goodwill that my client has diligently cultivated amongst his friends, colleagues, and within society over numerous years through his unwavering hard work, honesty, and dedication. Consequently, individuals have developed negative perceptions and ill-feelings towards my client, falsely attributing his professional achievements not to his merits but to the spurious allegations propagated by you. This has resulted in social distancing and a misrepresentation of his character, thereby devastating not only his personal respect and dignity but also his professional career, name, and public standing.
16. That in the light above-mentioned fact and events you have committed an act which is punishable as an offence under section 356 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
17. That, while the damage inflicted upon my client’s reputation may be irreparable in its entirety, a sincere and unconditional apology, coupled with the issuance of a public letter of retraction and apology addressed to my client, may serve as a partial redressal and assuage the harm caused. Such an action would be a significant step towards repairing the reputational damage inflicted by your defamatory statements and their publication.
18. You are notified accordingly.
Therefore through the instant legal notice for defamation, you are hereby directed to tender an unconditional public apology to my client by issuing an apology letter and retraction in public domain with the same prominence as the defamatory Impugned Notice and the subsequent news article, within fifteen (15) days from the date of receipt of this Legal Notice. Please take note that failure to comply with this demand within the stipulated time frame will leave my client with no alternative but to initiate appropriate civil and criminal legal proceedings against all of you, seeking inter alia damages for defamation, and prosecution for the aforementioned offences, entirely at your risk and cost. We earnestly hope that no opportunities arise to opt for aforementioned legal actions and we trust you will take prompt and necessary action to rectify the situations.
Regards
Devendra Kumar Rai
Advocate
High Court,
Lucknow Bench, Lucknow-226010
वो खबर जिस पर उपरोक्त लीगल नोटिस प्राप्त हुआ है-
