Nusli Wadia pardons scribe Rajiv K Bajaj in defamation case

MUMBAI: Nusli Wadia has pardoned Rajiv K Bajaj, the former editor of the now defunct tabloid ‘The Daily’, and requested the court on Tuesday to remove his name from the list of defendants in a defamation case that Wadia had filed more than 20 years ago against the newspaper and its key functionaries, including Bajaj. However, responding to a question from Metropolitan Magistrate RV Bhakta, the patriarch of the Wadia Group denied any possibilities of an out-of-court settlement with other respondents which included the key functionaries of ‘The Daily’.

Wadia had filed criminal as well as civil defamation suits against ‘The Daily’ and its officials after the newspaper ran a string of stories alleging that Nusli was a Pakistani spy, having links with Dawood Ibrahim.

Wadia’s decision to pardon Bajaj follows an affidavit that Bajaj filed last month on the civil defamation suit, alleging that the reports published by the August 17, 1993, edition of The Daily were parts of an underlying business deal between Kamal Morarka — the owner of the newspaper and head of the construction and engineering company Gannon Dunkerley — and Reliance Industries (RIL).

Bajaj, in his affidavit, has also alleged that he was pushed into carrying the reports by certain persons including Anthony Jesudasan and Deepak Neogi — PR officials of the undivided Reliance group. Morarka’s company Nalanda Exports had appointed advocates to represent the defendants, according to the affidavit. On Tuesday, Wadia appeared in the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Mumbai as the court had earlier directed him to be present for withdrawing the case against Bajaj.

During the proceedings, Metropolitan Magistrate Bhakta asked Nusli Wadia whether he was also considering settling the matter out-of-court. To this, Wadia replied, “I am withdrawing the case against respondent number two (Rajiv K Bajaj) only but there is no question of settling the matter against others at all.” A visibly charged up Wadia stepped out of Court Number 23 soon after the proceedings which lasted for less than five minutes.