Supreme Court
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Rohini Sindhuri has filed a criminal defamation case in the Supreme Court against Indian Police Service (IPS) officer D Roopa Moudgil. Since then, the case has been heard again in recent days. The court had asked the two female police officers to compromise on the matter, but failed to reach a compromise and IPS asked to withdraw the petition. The court accepted and approved the withdrawal of the petition.
A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Augustine George Masih heard the case and allowed its withdrawal. The judge allowed the case to be withdrawn after being informed that the parties could not agree on a settlement and that the case would be prosecuted.
What did the court say?
During the hearing, the Supreme Court gave both sides time to decide whether the matter could be resolved. Justice Oka said the notice was issued because of a dispute between the IPS and IAS officers and we thought that both of you should reach an agreement to resolve the issue. The court said the mediation was requested because senior officials spent more time in law firms than at work.
Senior advocate Aditya Sondhi appeared for IPS Rupa Moudgil and senior advocate Siddharth Luthra appeared for IAS Sindhuri. Advocate Luthra argued against the agreement that he rejected the idea of the agreement as the reputation of IAS Sindhuri had been hugely damaged. IAS Sindhuri appeared in court. She told the court she was not interested in a settlement and wanted a ruling based on the merits of the case.
What was the dispute between the two policewomen?
IAS Sindhuri filed a defamation suit against IPS Moudgil on February 18 last year. Sindhuri learned that IPS Moudgil had allegedly made multiple allegations against her in a Facebook post and also shared her personal photos with his IAS colleagues. This led to a public altercation between the two, following which the Karnataka government transferred the two police officers.
IAS issues legal notice
Thereafter, Sindhuri issued a legal notice to Modjil, demanding an unconditional apology from Modjil and compensation of Rs 10 million for loss of reputation and mental anguish. On March 24, a Bengaluru court ordered a criminal defamation case to be filed against Mudgil, who later moved the Karnataka High Court to quash the case. On August 21, the High Court rejected his request and he subsequently appealed.
Court gives time for settlement
During the hearing, the court asked what was the intention behind filing charges against IAS on IPS’s social media posts. In this regard, the IPS lawyer said that Moudgil was providing information against IAS Sindhuri for his misconduct. However, Judge Amanullah said that assuming your client (Maudgil) has such a complaint against Sindhuri, then you can file a complaint within the department.
Additionally, the judge emphasized whether the two could sit down face-to-face to talk about the matter. However, despite the time, Sundi told the court that he would withdraw the petition as the parties could not reach an agreement. The court therefore allowed IPS Moudgil to withdraw its application.
