Mumbai, June 9 -- The Bombay High Court Tuesday declined interim relief to Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust and imposed Rs 5 lakh cost, holding that HDFC Bank's press release against the trustees was not defamatory.
Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan observed that the bank's statement followed a "spree of frivolous litigation" by trustees . The Trust was directed to pay the cost to HDFC Bank within six weeks.
The high court passed the ruling on the interim application in a defamation suit seeking Rs 1,000 crore in damages against HDFC Bank and others for allegedly running a "deliberate and sustained smear campaign" against the Trust, pertaining to recovery and enforcement actions initiated by the bank.
The court observed it was "apparent...