Birlas sue Express, claim Rs 1,000 cr in damages

The Aditya Birla group has taken The Indian Express Ltd, publishers of the Indian Express newspaper, to court claiming damages of Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) for "serious reputational damage to the group".

In a statement issued on Friday, the group has also sought permanent injunction on the newspaper from republishing an article that referred to certain financial irregularities by an official of Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt Ltd.

When contacted, Vaidehi Thakar, Director of Indian Express, said, "we have not been served with the papers yet but our story accurately quotes the statements made by the employees of the Aditya Birla Corporation in the income tax appraisal report. We stand by our story,"

The Aditya Birla group statement said the suit has been filed on the ground that the published articles are based on the alleged "appraisal report" of the Income Tax department and the alleged document is an internal and confidential document of the Income Tax Department.

"The alleged document is neither final nor conclusive and subject to further process of inquiry and adjudication. Publication of any news report on the basis of such preliminary and internal report can only be intended with a view to vitiate the freeness and fairness of the inquiry," the Aditya Birla Management Corporation Ltd (ABMCL) said.

The suit was filed on February 5.