Devendra Fadnavis' Wife Sends Defamation Notice to Nawab Malik, Demands Apology

Maharashtra's former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and wife Amruta Fadnavis

(File Photo: IANS)

Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife, Amruta Fadnavis, has sent a notice of defamation to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik for his tweets about her family.

This comes a day after Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan sent a similar legal notice to Devendra Fadnavis.

As per the notice, Amruta Fadanvis has demanded an “unconditional apology" from Malik and asked him to delete the tweets within 48 hours or face legal action under IPC sections 499 and 500.

The notice reads that Malik's tweets have "resulted in tarnishing the image" of the Fadnavis family. The tweets cited in the notice refer to Malik accusing Fadnavis and his wife of having an association with alleged drug peddlers, namely, Jaydeep Rana.

On 1 November, Malik had kickstarted a controversy and posted photographs of Amruta and Rana at an event.

Defending the photos, the legal notice stated, "the said event was organised by activists who has formed a social group under the name of 'River March' with an initiative to save the rivers of Mumbai...It is stated that Mr. Jaideep Rana was hired by the creative team of 'River March' and our client or her family had no association with him.".

According to the notice, Malik's "consciously and selective" sharing of pictures “reflects his malafide intentions to tarnish" Fadnavis' image.

Sameer Khan Sends Notice to Fadnavis

On Wednesday, Nawab Malik's son-in-law Sameer Khan sent a legal notice Devendra Fadnavis for "defamatory and false allegations against him" and demanded Rs 5 crore in damages "on account of mental torture, agony and financial loss".

Khan had been arrested in January this year in a drugs-related case but was granted bail on 27 September, citing lack of evidence after eight and a half months.

In the legal notice shared on Twitter by Malik's daughter, Khan has accused Fadnavis of making a statement on ABP News alleging that drugs had been found in his possession, a "baseless" claim, without "any merits".

Commenting on the notice, Malik on Thursday said, “We will file a defamation case against Fadnavis if he will not apologise to us.”